Blame it on Youth
by rockingsardine
Summary: "You have been touching yourself, princess," he grunted "I hope at my expense." Sakura has been fighting her urges to jump the dog nin at every possible opportunity, but little does she know that her urges should be the least of her worry. KibaxSakura
1. Two Fires

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 1: Two Fires**

* * *

_"Kiba…oh Kiba…fuuuuucccckkk!"_

_She screamed uncontrollably. Her loud expression of satisfaction were followed by numerous throaty moans that have escaped her lips as she threw her head back. Writhing wildly on the bed, she clutched the sheets tightly in her hands, her knuckles turning white from the pressure._

_"Mmmmm.." he emitted a low growl._

_He was sucking hungrily, like a starved dog. His talented tongue grazing her folds, entering her hot pussy and teasing her pearl. She was losing her sanity, going crazy under him; he had to hold down her hips with his large, callous hands in order to continue his ministrations._

_"God, please….fuck!'_

_His rough hands moved below to her ass and squeezed her firm cheeks playfully, this earned him plentiful heavy moans and breathy sighs from his lover. He then proceeded to lift her bottom into the air, and brought his own body back, settling on his muscular legs. He now had full control over her, and opened his mouth even more, to let his tongue wonder further, lapping furiously at her core. _

_"Kiba! Pleaseeeeeeee…I can't….mmm!"_

_She was sobbing from the pure pleasure this amazing man was giving her. His rough hands squeezing her ass, his soft arm hair tickling her sides, his breath audible through her own moans, and of course his amazing tongue that was doing wonders to her. He was completely surrounding her, dominating her, and they both loved it._

_"Ohhhhhhh….fuck, oh Kiba!"_

_ The young woman arched her back as a particularly rough tug brought her another step closer to her climax. Her eyes started to water, and her breath hitched as his abnormal canine teeth grazed her pearl. Her hands shot to his biceps, her eyes shut and her world exploded._

* * *

Sakura bolted up from her bed, the thunder scarring the living crap out of her. The startled woman sat awkwardly on her bed, now wide awake. The storm outside seemed to have started to wind down, but the rain kept falling and the dark sky did not budge.

'Great, the fucking thunder woke me up before the best part!' she thought angrily.

The young woman, now covered in sweat, tried to catch her breath. It was so vivid again, so real and so amazing. She brought her hand to her head and tried to think straight, but all she could think about was the man in her dreams, his hands, his tongue and well to put it frankly the uncomfortable heat that has formed between her legs from the naughty dream.

'Yet again.'

She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Her sexual frustrations getting the best of her, it wasn't possible for her to keep going this way. This was the third night this week alone that she had this kind of dream, and this kind of reaction to it, and it was only Thursday goddamn it.

She ran her hand through her pink locks. The thing was, these dreams were so real and vivid, because they weren't just dreams, they were memories. Memories from when she really had screamed Kiba's name as he brought her to many mind-blowing orgasms. He was a fantastic lover. By far the most dedicated, detailed and diligent, but what has made him stand out the most among the rest, was his animalistic nature. He had this raw, fervent instinct that always made her toes curl.

The dilemma that Sakura was facing, beside her uncontrollable arousal, was that Kiba was no longer hers. They had broken up about three months ago, _three excruciating months ago_, during which she went to bed with a number of fine bachelors from the village, trying to find satisfaction but to her dismay she always came out with none. She even tried picturing his rugged smile, and red birthmarks while in such acts, but it was never enough.

She had been pent-up like this for the entire three months. Tense, irritated and even more aggressive than usual. Everyone has noticed, but no one really knew why she was like this. Who could have guessed that she missed sex with the Inuzuka? Many assumed she was just heartbroken and upset from their split, and mind you she was, they did date for almost half a year, and they were friends prior to that, so their relationship was an important one, but it was not the reason she was this stressed.

Naruto had actually confronted her first, telling her she could talk to him about anything, that he was there for her. She almost jumped his bones but then pulled herself together. What was she supposed to tell him? "Oh I just really miss Kiba's dick, so would you mind lending me yours?" No. Even in this state, she had boundaries. Naruto was her best friend; she was not going down that road with him.

The kunoichi looked out the window, still dark and gloomy. Glancing at her clock, she grunted at the _5:47 _flashing brightly, almost mockingly at her.

She might as well get ready for her shift at the hospital. Well 'shift' she thought with a sour smile. Now that she was running the place, it wasn't really called a 'shift' was it? Sakura was promoted to the Chief Medical Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, three months ago, and had worked 14 hours a day, for three months straight. She was tired, frustrated and angry: angry about her life, and her decisions.

Becoming the Chief Medical Shinobi, at the exactly same time she had broken up with Kiba Inuzuka was no coincidence. The fact was Tsuande had mentioned possibility of the position being given to her about 5 months ago, when she was still heavily involved with Kiba.

The Hokage had explained that she would be monitored for the following few weeks, in order for her superiors to asses her skills and capabilities for such a responsibility and title. Tsunade displayed her confidence in Sakura. That was until the said Inuzuka came into picture.

There was a number of…accidents if you will, where the dog nin had caused Sakura trouble in the hospital, and in the eyes of the council. These included him barging into operation rooms, w_hile _she was operating, kidnapping her during her shifts and bringing pack of dogs to the hospital and demanding the receptionist to allow 'Dr. Haruno' to treat them. One of the most embarrassing moments of her life was when a group of poison specialists had burst into her office, needing her help, only to find her bend over a desk, with the dog nin behind her.

All these events have spiraled into a big mess, where Tsunade was forced to give Sakura an ultimatum. Either she would end things with the Inuzuka and get her act together, or she could kiss that title goodbye, forever.

Sakura still remembered their fight, when she told him things were over.

* * *

_"Don't be stupid Sakura, don't kill our relationship for a stupid promotion!" The tanned man shouted, he grinded his teeth together in anger._

_"This isn't a stupid promotion! This is my career! Do you know what an important step this is in my life? You don't get a higher status in this field than this!" the pink haired woman shouted back, equally irritated. She was upset at first, she didn't want to let Kiba go, but after many nights of thinking she decided, that logically, this was the wiser choice._

_His big brown eyes softened, running a hand through his unruly brown hair, he sighed._

_"Sakura, listen to me." He started gently, "Don't you see that this is the first step you are allowing them to take in order to control you? This isn't about you for them, this is about finding someone who will obey them."_

_She looked down. He didn't understand, just like she expected. "Kiba, please, you don't know the council like I do-"_

_"I don't know the council? Sakura wake up! Open those pretty eyes of yours! I'm part of one of the biggest most powerful clans in the village; I know what the fuck is going on here! I know what kind of fucked up shit goes down in that majestic council of theirs!"_

_"But this is different," Sakura retaliated, "I'm not part of their military component, to them I'm a medic, I help people, and that's all I want to do, that's all that matters, and with this position, I can truly do so. Please Kiba…" Her emerald eyes watering, she wanted to stay strong, she wanted him to hate her, to walk away immediately just to make this easy, but he was persistent._

_"Sakura…" he moved closer. She felt his hand on her shoulder, and next his fingers were grasping her chin, making her look up at him. Their eyes met, and she suddenly felt very small._

_"I can't let you go…I don't know what it is." He stared at her, his eyes following every twitch of every muscle on her face. "I love you." He said slowly, she stiffened. They had not said that to each yet. Their relationship has been more wild, more crazy and free rather than serious. Sakura knew she had feelings for him, real feelings, she just wasn't sure if he returned them and she did not want to spoil anything._

_'How fucking ironic….'_

_"Does that mean nothing to you?" Kiba continued carefully, studying her face. His tone genuinely fascinated. "Am I not enough for you?"_

_There was a pregnant silence. This was it, this moment decided everything, and she knew him well enough to know that he resorted to emotional, soft approach only when he was on the edge of walking away. She had to end this now; or she would never be able to._

_Sakura pushed his hand away, and stepped back._

_"I'm sorry Kiba. I have made up my mind. We're done." She put on a brave face. Stood strong and confident, but inside her heart was breaking. She was a shinobi, and even thought she had been very emotionally driven in the past, over the years she had learnt to put her duty above anything._

_The dog nin stared back. His face suddenly dead, lacking any sort of warmth that would reflect his previous words._

_"You know what? Fuck this shit. I thought by telling you I loved you you'd be all happy, on your knees sucking my dick, but it looks like shit like that doesn't work any more does it?" he said bluntly._

_Sakura exploded. She tightened her fist and dashed forward, aiming to kill._

_"Fuck you Inuzuka! You can go to hell"!_

_He dodged just in time as she hit the wall, making the helpless cement crumble to the ground._

_"Have a great life, princess," he uttered quickly as he made a fast escape through the opening his ex-girlfriend just formed in the building._

_Emerald eyes followed the man as he disappeared out of her sight. Soon everything went quiet, and the next thing to crumble to the ground was Sakura. She fell to the floor and cried: alone, broken and sad, just as she would find herself, three months later._

* * *

Sakura shook off the uncomfortable feelings she got every time she thought about that night. She never quite figured out whether her choice was the right one, but now it was too late. Honestly she was satisfied with her place and importance in the village. So what if she ruined one of the best things that ever happened to her? She was convinced there were dozens of Kiba Inuzukas coming her way in the future.

The only problem she was having at the moment was her disobedient libido. Before, she honestly didn't believe that people could get addicted to sex, but by the looks of it, she certainly has. Only to make matters worse, she had seemed to get addicted to sex with one person that was evidently avoiding her, and most likely despising her this very instant.

Sakura let out a little laugh. Wait a minute; he has never honestly cared has he? He did imply that he has never loved her, only fucked her.

'Oh, when he fucked me…mmmmm' Sakura closed her eyes, and an image of his hot, naked, glistening body suddenly appeared in her mind. He was so damn sexy, always so confident and dominant and rough. She laid back; she was too horny to get up anyway. She would give this a try. Again.

Sakura moved one of her hands down her neck, gently touching her soft skin, imagining it was his lips traveling down her nape. Remembering how he would let his teeth tease her skin just ever so lightly, before he would bite down hard, marking her in a dominant manner.

Her second hand travelled down to her right breast, she slowly caressed the underside of her breast through her thin cotton tank, just like he would do at the beginning, always simply, slowly teasing her, until she was meowing for him to continue. She let her other hand join her and this time she grabbed her left breast and squeezed it hard, while the other hand started pinching her nipple.

Sakura's nose wrinkled in concentration, as she tried to picture Kiba in the place of her hands, but the image was blurry, and misshapen. With her entire mind focused on the idea of the dog nin, she lost the feeling of her body, and just let her hands go limp.

'Damn it!' she thought, 'Not again.'

This would happen every time she tried to satisfy herself. Her mind was too fuzzy, too unfocused, and she realized that her body was not as coordinated as she thought it was. Surely, as a shinobi, she could fabricate an earthquake with just one hit to the ground, yet she could not allow herself to experience such earthquakes within herself. She realized this, after about two weeks of being Kiba-less, that she has become so infatuated with him, she allowed him to take a complete ownership of her body, while she has somehow lost it.

To top things of, over the months, rumors have started to spread across the village that Kiba was having mighty fine time with the ladies. In fact, apparently he has become a playboy. She heard Naruto talk to Shino about this, when they were in hot springs once during a mission. Shino swore that Kiba was not becoming a womanizer, not on purpose at least, apparently he simply really liked sex, to the point where Shino said that he might be addicted. Then they threw in some jokes about STDs, but all Sakura could imagine was Kiba happily humping every girl he sets his eyes on, getting his fill, and then seeing herself and hating how hollow and passionless she has become.

Giving up, the kunoichi threw off her tank and shorts, and headed for the shower, a cold one. This was going to be another great day at the hospital.

* * *

The rain gently pattered on the window glass, and Kiba lazily followed each droplet as they slid down the glass pane. He was laying on the side of his bed, in all his glory, one hand behind his head, while the other was stroking Akamaru, who was hiding underneath the bed, shivering, still shaken from the thunder.

"It's alright, boy. It's over." Kiba said quietly.

Getting bored, his gaze shifted, to look at the sleeping form next to him. Misaki. No, Mitori, no, that's not it. He frowned.

Satori.

He moved his hand to her face, placing a strand of her dark red hair behind her ear. She was pretty, this one. Green eyes, small nose, full lips. Her skin was flawless, smooth, ivory, and her body, was, well great, womanly, beautiful.

He looked down.

"So why the fuck won't you be happy." He mumbled to his penis.

Kiba always imagined reaching the 40-year mark, and entering mid-life crisis. However, it truly happened about two months back, when he was jerking off and found himself more irritated after he had finished, than when he had begun.

His dick has given up on him, not literally of course, that little bitch became a nuisance in the past couple of months, but that never bothered Kiba before, because he would just visit his girlfriend and the day would suddenly turn very, very sunny.

But then, that bitch dumped him. _Him_. Kiba Inuzuka. As he recalled, she had said it herself, her 'best sex ever'. Where has that gotten him? Constantly hunting down each eligible woman in the village and banging her till the sunrise, only to finish with a giant boner, unsatisfied libido, and pent-up energy.

At first, he thought the reason that he was unhappy with sex lately was because maybe he just became too good at it. He has reached his peak, and from there it was simply never better, and so automatically just worse. That would make sense. Right?

Then, about 9 weeks ago, he kept count, yes, he found a ruler underneath his bed while looking for his forehead protector that he had misplaced. Curious about why he had a ruler underneath his bed, he reached for it and took it out to the light for him to see. He almost fell face first to the ground when his sensitive noise caught a faint scent of the one and only Sakura.

Just having her scent enter his system, made him shudder, made his limbs go weak, and started a fire in his belly. The dog nin had a sudden urge to run and find this woman, bend her over the nearest object and have his way with her, whether she wanted to or not.

After he composed himself, he smirked at the ruler. Oh yes, that was the day when Sakura asked how big he was, he told her and because she would not believe his ridiculous number, he took out a ruler to prove it. She grabbed it and threw it away, before she evilly made her own way down to his groin. What a little minx.

That was when he realized that the problem did not lie within him but within Sakura. His body craved for her. His mind completely obsessed with her. He needed her, demanded her, yearned for her, but because she refused him, a_nd_ because his ego was too damn big, he ignored it, and furthermore ignored her. He eliminated any contact with her, avoided the places she often visited; and he tried to stay away from the people who were especially close to her, that heavily included Naruto and Ino; two people who Kiba could honest live without.

Naruto was, however, tricky; he always wanted to play with Akamaru, and that meant Akamaru picking up Sakura's scent and carrying it all the way home. However, the biggest difficult was the Hokage. She was Sakura's master after, and he had no choice but to come and see Lady Tsunade when she demanded. He literally held his breath when he was in her office, and made sure to wear loose pants.

Kiba got off the bed, and walked to the window. Pressing his burning hand on the cool surface of the glass. At least some relieve. Honestly, he was angry. This woman had reduced him into some little horny boy who couldn't help himself. She had caused him to also gain quite a reputation. So he slept around a lot, so what? It wasn't his fault, that no one was good enough. No one is f_ucking g_ood enough.

'No one is Sakura.'

His nose flared, and his canines came out, burning. His fists clenched, and before he knew it he had smashed the window. He watched the glass shimmer down like the rain, landing on the floor, creating a mess.

There was a small silence, before a barely audible 'Kiba?' made its way over from the bed. He looked behind to see Mitori- eh, I mean Satori on the bed, looking confused and scared, staring at the dog nin.

Kiba's face fell flat. "Sorry," he stood quietly, before moving to a chair next to the bed, grabbing his pants, and with one swift movement putting them on.

"I gotta go." He said bluntly, and walked out. She had better be gone when he gets back. He reached his door and realized that it was probably a bit chilly out, so he took a jacket from the hanger by the door and left. There was another way to get rid off some of this extra energy.

* * *

Kiba entered the training grounds and immediately picked up three-chakra signatures, he raised his head, allowing his nose to scan, and fortunately enough not pick up any of that forebode Haruno scent.

'Thank god.' He thought as he hurried across the field to the three figures by the forest.

"Look who's here!" Chouji exclaimed, "Haven't seen you in a while, Kiba."

"Uh…Yeah, I have been busy."

"We know, hell the entire village knows about what you have been up to lately." Shikamaru smirked, never taking his eyes of the scroll he had been studying before Kiba arrived.

"Please tell me, you at least use protection Kiba, I mean seriously, you probably carry every STD there is by now." Shino added, his tone more serious than the other two.

"Calm down, I'm not an idiot." Kiba mumbled, "So what are you guys doing? Sparring?" he continued, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, obviously," Shikamaru finally took his eyes from the scroll to meet Kiba's, "Care to join?"

Kiba nodded rapidly. Suddenly the four men all jumped back in unison, getting into their fighting stances and growing alert of their new opponents.

Shikamaru blinked, and once his chocolate eyes opened again the field was empty. He stood visibly alone, but painfully aware of the clear chakra signature coming at him from behind.

'Troublesome.'

* * *

"Oh shit! Guys I'm so fucking sorry!" Chouji screamed as he ran to his two comrades who were lying on the floor, grunting in pain.

Shino emerged from his hiding place behind the strategically placed bushes, and scratching his head he asked: "What the fuck happened?"

Kiba and Shikamaru were both pitifully sprawled on the floor. Shikamaru was grasping his leg and mumbling how troublesome Chouji is, while Kiba was holding his arm and cursing at his own incapability.

Chouji turned bright red,: "I forgot that we are not to use chakra, I'm sorry! I got freaked out! You both came at me at the same time! I'm so sorry!"

That was true. Somehow both the genius and the dog nin decided to attack Chouji at the same time, both jumping at the poor boy out of nowhere, unpleasantly cornering him. Chouji feeling trapped and pressured, used Super Expansion Jutsu in defense. He smashed them both to the ground with two giants hands. Causing both of his comrades to fall on a different limp, effectively breaking it.

"Well shit guys, we should probably end this training, and just head to the hospital." Shino said as he helped Shikamaru up, diligently supporting him.

Kiba stood up as fast as lighting, his face pale. "The hospital?" he whispered, his insides burning.

"Yes…your hand is probably broken, you have to go get it checked, or otherwise you maybe illegible for the next mission." Shikamaru murmured. "Come on, it's starting to rain again."

Kiba stood frozen.

He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Chouji, seeing his comrade stiffening, assumed the dog nin was too weak to run, so without a word he threw Kiba over his shoulder and the group set out.

"Chouji!" Kiba yelled angrily, slightly embarrassed by the emasculating position he got himself into.

"It's my fault, let me fix it. "

Kiba let his face fall.

'I just hope the goddamn lighting has struck Sakura during the night.'


	2. Ignited

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 2: Ignited**

* * *

Sakura was on the verge of crying. She was sitting in her office, under a pile of incomplete paperwork and had the worst headache. She was irritated, frustrated and extremely on the edge, waiting for even the smallest provocation, so she could finally explode.

When she woke up this morning, after having that infamous dream, she knew her day was going to miserable, but this was outrageous. She was so angry with herself, and it was all because of the operation she had just completed, barely.

Upon her arrival at the hospital this morning, Sakura was immediately rushed into the emergency room, where she almost got a heart attack. At first, she thought the well-built body writhing in pain was Kiba, and her heart dropped. Her ears started to buzz, and she couldn't think straight, as tears rushed to her eyes. They wouldn't bring her in, if this wasn't fatal.

Only by some miracle, she caught what the assistant nurse was saying.

"Teiru Inuzuka, age 21, 4 broken ribs, cracked skull, heavy internal bleeding, critical poison infection, spread to 70% of his body. Poison unknown."

Sakura stared, with a bit of relief. It wasn't Kiba.

'Teiru …Teiru?' she thought carefully, wasn't that his cousin, or second cousin? She shook her head as sweat rolled down her forehead.

Time was ticking.

"Sakura-san?"

'It's not him. It's not him." Sakura repeated in her mind like a mantra, but this was the closest she's got to him in months. It excited her.

Teiru wheezed in pain.

_'Oh my god, what am I doing? This man is dying.' _Sakura panicked. She tried to move.

'Move, goddamn it! _Move!_'

The man let out another heavy grunt, he cracked one eye open, fixating it on her, and he stared lifelessly. Expecting.

"S-sa….kura…chan." he said in whisper.

He knew her. He remembered her. Sakura often visited the Inuzuka compound when she was dating Kiba, and met many members of the clan, but it was hard to recall everyone. Maybe it was easier when you could recognize scents and such.

She wondered if Teiru hated her like Kiba did.

Her medical side finally kicked in as she dashed towards the man, feeling at home, in her element, she began assessing Teiru and yelling out orders to all present nurses and doctors. Her hands glowed with chakra, and her mind was entirely focused on saving this man.

Teiru survived. However, she had to let go off this barrier she had put between herself and the Inuzuka, because next time it could cost her a life.

Now, Sakura sat at her desk, head down, feeling empty. What if her next patient, fighting for life would be Kiba himself, how would she handle it?

'The damned life of a shinobi.' She thought bitterly.

* * *

"Okay, what re_ally _happened?" Ino crossed her arms over her chest, and tapped her foot against the tiled, hospital floor, "because I find it hard to believe that you f_ell_."

"You'd be surprised how clumsy we are for a couple of outstanding shinobi." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly, while stabilizing himself on one healthy leg. He wasn't lying to be fair, they did fall, and it was just the reason they fell, that made the genius omit all details.

Chouji was terrified of Ino, and he knew she would kill him if she found out what a klutz he was. She told him many times, that if he ever harmed someone by accident again, as he has done so many times during missions, she would castrate him.

The blonde's gaze hardened. She turned her head abruptly, to stare at Chouji. He stiffened. "_Fine_, you outstanding shinobi, come this way."

"I told you it'd be fine, god Chouji relax. We'll meet you and Shino here once we are done." Shikamaru said, eyes lazily scanning Kiba, who was standing noticeably further away from them. "Kiba?"

Kiba looked up. His face terrified, 'No,' Shikamaru thought, 'that's not fear. It's…anticipation?'

The moment they've entered the hospital Kiba had caught it. That scent he has tried to avoid for months. His whole body shuddered, and he had trouble walking. He wanted to break into a sprint and find her, and…

Then Ino showed up, and she reeked of the smell, plus she was a female herself, so that didn't help Kiba's growing erection. Maybe he should just jump Ino, but that probably wouldn't have settled anything. 'Plus Shikamaru would beat me to pulp, if not Ino herself.' Kiba thought with amused. Then Ino proceeded to proclaim to follow her.

Kiba just stood there, watching her disappear down the hallway, realizing that he had to go in deeper into the hospital. He couldn't. He'd be engulfed in her scent; he'd be uncontrollable and wild. He knew it.

"Kiba…" Shikamaru grunted, finally catching on. "It's Sakura, isn't it?"

Kiba froze. How did he know? Shit, did he figure out that his libido has been permanently suppressed by her absence?

"Still heartbroken?" The shadow user put his hands in his pocket, and gently rested his injured foot on the ground, in his trademark lazy posture. Kiba made a face, he _wished _that's all it was.

"No…my arm just hurts." He mumbled as he finally started moving, joining Shikamaru who was hopping away, as they followed Ino quietly.

"You know, it is very unlikely you'll see her. This is just a minor injury, and she is the Chief Medical Shinobi, so there really would be no reason for her to come down here."

Kiba growled on the inside. 'Yeah, that's right. She is the f_ucking _Chief Medical Shinobi, isn't she?' He knew very well about that, after all she was too good for him now, wasn't she? She was the princess, the royal cat, and he was just a dirty, stray dog.

Kiba grew angry again. He tried to let go of these feelings of betrayal but he couldn't help but to feel hate towards what she's done. She made him crazy, she made him f_eel_, she made him give her everything, and what did he get? He instinctively held his breath, to avoid any more of the scent entering his nose. He just had to get through this, and get the hell out.

Ino stopped at a door. _Standard medical procedure_ was written in black next to the door. They both made a move to enter.

"No, no, no." Ino stopped them, her hand on her hip, "You and your arm can come in." she said at Kiba, "but you and your leg," she turned to Shikamaru, "Come with me."

Shikamaru shrugged and hopped over to her, and they walked away. Kiba was left alone, trapped in a room reeking of Sakura, irritated he sat on the metal stool and waited, for what he hoped was a quick and easy procedure so he could get the hell out.

Then, Kiba noticed the bulge in his pants. 'You must be fucking kidding.' He was throbbing, and he knew if he took another sniff of her scent, he'd be a goner. He'd tear the place apart just to find her, bend her over and finally allow himself to take what's his.

He stopped himself. What _used to be _his.

The tanned man suddenly heard a soft knock, and his head snapped to the door. There, stood a petite, brunette, with a shy smile. Pretty. She was wearing the standard hospital uniform, and holding a clipboard.

"Kiba Inuzuka." she said quietly, with bitterness in her voice. What?

The dog nin eyed her more closely. "Yes…" he said carefully, opening his mouth he caught the nurse's scent and stiffened. He knew her, he had slept with her a week ago, left and have ignored her since; just like many of his other 'dates' in the recent months.

"Urgh, you!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, and walked towards him in a quick pace. "I swear if my job wasn't to heal you, I would break your neck this instant." She said accusingly, pointing a well-manicured finger at him. Her other hand was clutching the clipboard with much force, that Kiba knew she'd like to implant on him. Damn his unstable libido, and damn his evident taste for aggressive women.

Kiba shifted on the stool uncomfortably.

"Listen…" he started, and then realizing that he couldn't even recall her name, he shut his mouth and just stared at her dumbly. He was so getting pounded, and not in the way he had wanted to lately.

The brunette brought her hand to hear face and sighed, evidently understanding his failed attempt to calm her.

"You're an asshole." She repeated to herself, as she scanned the clipboard. "Just give me your arm." She said sternly, clearly irritated. He gently and carefully reached out with his hurt arm, while she forcefully grabbed it with her smaller but much rougher hands, engulfing it in the well-known green, cooling chakra.

Silence filled the room, as the girl worked on Kiba's arm. He studied her. She was very good-looking, like all women he took to bed. She had emerald eyes, long brown hair and a slender frame. He noticed that as more and more of her chakra entered his system, he could decipher more and more components in her scent.

His nose suddenly cringed when he caught a glimpse of a particular scent. His head snapped in alarm.

"Why do you smell like a dying Inuzuka?"

She looked at him; her pretty green eyes wide open.

"Dying Inuzuka?" she said slowly, "Oh…you mean…you don't know?"

The tanned man just shook his head. "Your cousin Teiru came back from an A-rank mission this morning, in a fatal state. Sakura-san saved him." She finished, her voice filled with relief. "She really is amazing, you know? One can just wonder how many lives would be lost if she weren't here. "

Kiba said nothing. Something felt different. Sakura, this woman who had torn his heart out of his chest, has cursed his sex life and has plagued his mind in the past three months, has now saved the life of someone important to him, his little cousin Teiru.

The brown-haired ninja sighed and closed his eyes. He felt a strange pain in his chest. There was something about this act of her saving his family member that made it feel so right; all of it. It felt so right for her to be so powerful, so dominating and such an inseparable part of his life.

"Kiba? You okay?" Kiba looked back at the girl, god he still couldn't remember her name! He must have blanked out for a while because she was looking at him with worry in her eyes. "I'm done." She concluded, taking her hands of him. "It wasn't even broken, just sprained wrist and couple of ripped ligaments in your elbow. I took care of most of the interior damage, and you should be good as new in couple of days." She finished, looking at him with anticipation.

Kiba just looked back. He was still taken back by the entire Sakura thing. Why won't she just get out of his life?

"Thanks." He grunted under his breath, as he experimentally moved his hand. It seemed to be fine. He settled back on the stool and looked at his nurse. She wasn't there anymore, and suddenly he felt a hot breath on his ear. She was standing behind him, leaning over him, and her hand started suggestive running down his shoulders. Kiba stiffened. He was aroused, so technically his body was responding, but his head wanted only one female, and this nurse was not the one.

"Kiba-kun…" the girl purred behind him, her right hand trailing down to his crotch. "I think I'm willing to forgive you…since you seem to be so _happy_ to see me." She said, and to prove her point she squeezed his member roughly.

Silly girl must have noticed his erection, and assumed it was because of her. He had to stop sleeping with sexually aggressive women; it only brought trouble. As much as Kiba knew this was wrong, he couldn't help but to react. The dog nin grunted, it felt _so_ good.

"You like this, huh?" she continued in a wanton voice, her hot tongue suddenly making contact with his ear, while her hands continued to play with the bulge between his legs.

"You know, you are the best I ever had, and I am willing to give us another shot."

Kiba wanted to scream. He was aroused beyond a point of return. There was a girl that he had previously kicked away, throwing herself at him, yet all he could think of was a pink haired woman moaning heavily under him. That's what he wanted, what he needed, not this.

The shinobi opened his mouth to take a deeper breath, to try to calm himself down, only to engulf a mouthful of Sakura's scent.

'Shit.' Kiba thought to himself as the heavenly aroma entered his body.

His mind turned to mush, his eyes lost focus, and he felt his canine teeth grow in anticipation of something delicious, all the hair on his body stood, he felt his entire form going into its primal mode. Before he could close his mouth again to regain control, he felt the hot muscle that had been previously playing with his ear, enter his own mouth.

That's when Kiba Inuzuka lost himself, and the animal came out.

* * *

_Beep…Beep….Beep…Beep…Beep_

Kiba cracked one eye open, and grunted as a wave of harsh light entered his sensitive pupils. He groaned as he shifted his entire body and slowly rose from the bed he was lying on. The first thing he noted was that he was still in the hospital. He was on a hospital bed to more specific, completely naked only wearing the standard hospital gown.

He ran a hand through his hair. Relieved he laid back when he felt no pain in his forearm anymore.

'What the fuck happened?'

Then he suddenly felt it; the presence, the life, the scent.

The dog nin bolted up from the bed, eyes wide open and stared. There she was, like a dream, sitting on a metal stool against the wall, opposite his bed, with arms crossed and with a very irritated expression.

The kunoichi was wearing an open, long white coat that flared around her as she sat with her legs crossed. Her grey pencil skirt has risen up her leg, giving Kiba an eyeful of her toned, ivory thigh he knew so well. Her crossed arms amplified her humble breasts, dressed in a white blouse. He noticed two buttons, instead of her usual one undone, giving him a nice view of her cleavage. Her full pink lips were in a straight line, her usually sparkling emerald eyes were dimmed in dark aura and her trademark shoulder length pink hair had grown out a bit he noticed, and was now spilling out of her messy bun.

She simply looked breathtaking.

Kiba caught another sniff of her wonderful scent. Closing his eyes, he took it all in and growled softly.

'Damn this woman.' He thought as he felt the painfully growing erection in his pants twitch.

"Are you just going to sit there?"

Kiba's eyes snapped open. He hasn't heard her voice in months. It was strong, loud but feminine. His mind immediately brought him few months back, when the only sounds coming from that mouth were moans.

"Fucking answer me." Her voice was dripping in anger, her eyes narrowed, eyeing Kiba closely.

"What?" Kiba answered back equally sourly. He was growing angry; his bitch would not talk to him like this.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Sakura stood up suddenly, and all he could do was stare at her form in all its glory. He watched every muscle move, and followed each little detail her body. He was mesmerized.

"Are you even listening to me goddamn? What were you thinking? Are you trying to ruin my life or is this a way to get back at me?!" Sakura was now screaming, the veins on her forehead showing. She was gritting her teeth and breathing heavily, but never taking her eyes of Kiba.

The shinobi was still very confused as to what was going on. All he could focus on was her scent, her presence and what he now discovered, her arousal. He could smell it. She was just as horny as he was. It made him shudder. This was too good to be true.

"Sakura, what are you talking about?" he snapped at her, his mind still disoriented from the smell of her arousal.

"What am I talking about?" The pink haired woman shouted, "I'm talking about the dying woman down the hall! I'm talking about the woman who you've beaten to near death, in my own fucking hospital!"

"What!?" Kiba clenched his fists. How dare she accuse him of beating a woman up? What kind of bastard does she think he is?

"Don't 'what' me! Tell me why!" Sakura kept screaming as she finally approached him. She roughly grabbed him by the collar of the hospital gown he was wearing and with one violent tug brought his face close to hers.

"Just tell me why the fuck you would do something like that?" Sakura fumed in anger.

Kiba's eyes narrowed. As much as he wanted to fuck her against the wall this instant, he would not allow her to talk to him in this way. She was crossing a line here.

He took hold of her arms and pushed her off. In one swift movement he grabbed her shoulders and flipped her over onto the bed, he quickly got on top of her, securing both of her hands in one of his callous hands, and using the other to hold her face in place. He placed one knee in between her legs and focused on her face.

Even with a hint of surprise in her eyes, she was still angry. God, she was so hot when she was angry.

"Why, Kiba? Why?" she insisted. It was getting on his nerves that she showed no fear when he was obviously in control. This was not the face she should be making when he was on top of her. Nor the sounds she was emitting fit the situation.

"For the last time, Sakura, I don't know what you are talking about." He said slowly and clearly, never taking his eyes of hers. He hasn't been this close to her in months, he was so hard it hurt, and the smell of her arousal, did not help either. There were both physically ready; all he had to do was take.

"You mean to tell me, you don't remember Kirume?" Sakura started, the dog nin's eyes fell to her lips. He wanted to kiss them, to dominate them.

"Who's Kirume?" he replied slowly, never taking his eyes of her lips.

"The nurse the came to take care of your arm." The kunoichi said sternly, "The woman who's neck you've broken." She continued. Kiba's eyes widened. "The woman who is now in a coma." Sakura finished in a murmur.

The tanned man looked back into Sakura's eyes. They were angry, and focused. His own eyes darkened.

"I remember waiting in the room, the girl…ughh… Kirume walking in, treating me..." he trailed off, well hell, he might as well tell her all of it, "then she made a move at me."

Sakura's brows furrowed. This brought Kiba pleasure; he could smell the jealousy in her. The shinobi never expected her feelings to be as strong as this; she broke up with him after all.

"I guess we fooled around a bit, but that's it. Then I left."

"No. That's not it." Sakura interrupted in almost whisper. She could hear the sincerity in his voice, and was shocked he didn't remember. This was almost like delivery bad news to a patient. "Due to the large amount of noise coming out of your room, some neighboring nurses came in to see what the problem was." The kunoichi started slowly, staring into Kiba's eyes. His face was focused on her, nervousness and confusion evident in his eyes.

"They found you holding Kirume against the wall, by her neck, choking her. She was unconscious, evidently beaten up and naked. They though you raped her, and was trying to kill her." Sakura explained softly. Kiba froze.

"You were…unapproachable. You kept growling, and making animal noises. It was as if there was no human inside you. You were violent and aggressive and… lost." Kiba let go of her, and moved back creating some distance between their bodies.

"You started attacking all the nurses that approached you, even security couldn't hold you down." Sakura's voice reduced to whisper. "You were an animal. In the end Ino and Shikamaru stopped you with mind transfer and the shadow possession jutsu." Sakura looked up at Kiba, and for the first time in months he saw a hint of fear in her eyes.

Kiba stood from the bed, and moved away from Sakura. His body was shaking, his head hurt. Why didn't he remember anything? He brought his shaking hand to his face and closed his eyes. She had to be lying.

"Upon closer examination, it was deduced that you have not raped her, but nonetheless, you have broken her neck, and her injury is above the fifth cervical vertebra." Sakura said as if it cleared everything up. Kiba opened his eyes and looked at her with desperation. The medic was now sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him; her face was cold again. "Meaning, she can't breath and there is a possibility she will die of asphyxiation."

There was pregnant pause.

"I did this?" Kiba asked slowly, fearing what might Sakura say.

"Yes." Sakura replied almost immediately, "And my question is why?" Sakura's eyes hardened. "Why, Kiba?"

_'Why? Why? Why?_'

"I…." Kiba trailed off, grabbing his head in his hands, he was searching his mind, his memory, looking for anything, reasons? A motive? "I don't fucking remember shit!" he screamed, closing his eyes and grabbing his hair roughly pulling it. There was an innocent woman dying and it was because of him!

He suddenly turned around, facing the wall and punched it, as hard as he could, spilling all of his emotions into the punch. His tanned arm ran through the wall, and the room shook. The wall around his hand crumbled down a little, creating a medium-sized hole. The pain of the impact shot up and down his forearm. He just stood there motionless, one arm through the wall, while the other was by his side, fist clenched, and his knuckle turning white.

He growled. "Fuck."

The funny thing was, even as angry as he was, he still couldn't make the wall fall apart like Sakura could any day. He wanted to laugh at his weakness, but it only made him miserable, even more so than he already was.

His anger had not subsided, it was only elevated and he had the sudden urge to hurt himself more. Without thinking he started smashing his head against the wall, as fast and hard as he could. Sharp streaks of white began to appear before him, blocking his eyesight, and soon he felt hot liquid running down his face. He had to close his eyes as blood started obstructing his vision. Hot burning tears ran down his cheeks, from the pain and the misery.

He never stopped.

"Kiba, stop!" the beautiful voice rang in his ears.

Suddenly there was a pair of small, but very powerful hands on him, pulling him away from the wall. He was turned around, and he felt these hands cradling his head gently, as if it was a precious diamond. Next thing he knew, he fell to his knees, and felt his head fall onto something soft. He could feel hot breath on his face, and by Sakura's strong scent he could only deduce that she was holding him at the moment. She had settled them both on the floor, his beaten, bloody head resting on her breasts, below her chin, and her hands grasping him around his neck, holding his face close to her heart.

He felt so loved at this moment, so unfairly treated considering there was a person dying down the hall because of him, but he had always been a selfish man, and always took what he did not deserve. Therefore he did not stop himself when his hands came around Sakura and pulled her closer to him. He held tightly to her, as he cried into her chest.

"I'm a monster." He sobbed.

He felt her shake her head.

"No, Kiba. You're not a monster." He heard her say boldly. "You're an animal." Sakura whispered softly. He was taken back by her answer; it was not exactly the type of soothing words he expected.

"But I'll help you, it will be alright."

* * *

This was wrong. Sakura knew it. He did not deserve her pity, nor her help. Kirume was fighting for her life in the next room, and it was all because of him, but she couldn't help herself. Somehow she felt as if the state that Kiba was in was not entirely his fault.

'God, Tsunade-sama is going to skin me alive.'


	3. If You Can't Take the Heat

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 3: If You Can't Take the Heat**

* * *

"_Sakura Haruno!"_

The kunoichi gritted her teeth, and lowered her head in anticipation of what she assumed to be the most powerful punch she will receive to date. Tsunade had stormed into her office with such speed; she left paperwork flying about all around Sakura's office. Sakura just sat at her desk, still as a statue. Maybe she should pretend that she is dead, that's what you do when you encounter a bear, is it not?

'God, how I wish for an encounter with a bear instead of this.' Sakura thought to herself sourly.

Tsunade slammed both of her fists on Sakura's desk, with such force that the entire office shook. Her brows furrowed in anger as she eyed Sakura. The medic ninja just sat there innocently.

"May I help you Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked nonchalantly. She could talk her way out of this; she always had when Kiba did something stupid back when they've dated.

'But to think of it, he had never almost killed someone.'

"Why yes, Sakura, yes you can." Tsunade snorted back, "You can tell me why the fuck there is a dying nurse, and a huge commotion about your ex-boyfriend going berserk in the hospital again!"

The mention of Kirume, was like a splash of cold water to Sakura. She couldn't forget that Kiba had brought her into a fatal state. She had to deal with the consequences and so did he.

"I can explain Tsunade-sama-"

"Oh please! Please go ahead and explain!" The blond screamed at her in a mocking tone, "And please, also explain why the fuck Kiba is not here, so I can cut his fucking balls off!" She removed her fists from the table, leaving two holes on her wooden desk.

'Not bad.' Sakura thought to herself, 'Last time, she dislocated my shoulder.'

Suddenly Sakura felt herself being pulled roughly by the collar of her coat, much like she had done to Kiba, couple of hours ago. Tsunade violently lifted Sakura, to be able to face her dead on. Her face would scare the living shit out of even someone like Orochimaru at this point.

"Do you know, how this will reflect on you?" The hokage shrieked at Sakura, "Never mind that, do you know what the council will do? This reflects badly on me too! I am the one that fucking forced them to give you the position with no hesitation! I'm the one that assured them of your reliability, I'm the one that will get hurt when this comes out!"

Dreadful silence filled the room. Sakura knew how to deal with Tsunade. First, her ex-mentor needed to yell her lungs out, then she needed several minutes of silence to calm down and then Sakura could finally talk.

After couple of minutes Tsunade finally let Sakura go, and slumped down lifelessly on the chair facing Sakura's desk. Sakura quietly, with subtle, small movements also sat down back on her chair. The pink haired ninja carefully took out a bottle of saké she kept in her drawer for times like this, and pushed it towards Tsunade.

The blond eyed the bottle with hunger, but then her head snapped.

"No, Sakura! This will not solve anything!" Tsunade abruptly exclaimed, pushing the bottle away, much to Sakura's surprise. Damn, she must be _very _angry to refuse alcohol.

"I know Tsunade-sama. This has really crossed a line-" Sakura started reciting her usual apologetic speech.

"No, the line has been crossed months ago, this has gone so far beyond that line, that the line is no longer a line, okay? It's a fucking dot now." The hokage huffed in rage.

Sakura sat back in her chair. Her hands on her lap, she laced her fingers nervously, and started biting her lip, watching her mentor break down in front of her.

"Look, Tsunade-sama, it will be fine. I will personally make sure that this does not get out of the hospital." Sakura stated bluntly. "We will tell all the staff to stay quiet, and tell anyone that heard the fight, that it was just two angry comrades fighting, but it ended all well."

Tsunade ran her hand thought her golden locks, and looked at Sakura with disbelief.

"What about Kirume? What will we say? She tripped?"

"Yeah…something like that." Sakura looked down. How could she forget that Kirume was still in coma?

"And do you think Kirume will be willing to just lie through her missing teeth?" Tsunade argued stubbornly. "You know this isn't that simple."

Now, it was Sakura's turn to get angry.

"Not that simple? Are you fucking kidding me?" The kunoichi shot up, bringing herself up to Tsunade's eye level. She was fuming.

"Excuse me?"

"When it comes to wiping out an entire clan from the sake and well-being of the village, it's all okay, it's all possible, and it's all easy!" Sakura barked at the Hokage, thinking of the Uchiha's fate. "But making one girl stay quiet is an impossible task! Don't make me laugh Tsunade-sama. Don't forget who I am, you can't look down on me anymore, and don't expect me to play dumb either. Don't forget I know almost as much about this village as you, for crying out loud I sort through all the paperwork more often that you do!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes in warning. "Careful Sakura." She growled.

Sakura looked away, a little ashamed at her outburst. It was just really getting to her lately. The council was allowed to do anything, and control anyone, but even with her title, she was still forced to obey ridiculous limits established by the elders. It became clear in the past weeks, that it really was just a title, a sugar-coated name for the council's bitch.

"I hear you Sakura, let it be your way. We'll bury this, and it will be all right." Tsunade stated diplomatically, using Sakura's silence as an opening for her to speak. "But what about Kiba? I can't let him just walk away after doing something like this."

Sakura's head snapped back.

"There is something wrong with him, my lady."

"Yeah I noticed Sakura, he _broke _a nurse's neck." Tsunade said slowly, as if Sakura was stupid. The kunoichi just shook her head.

"No, I mean there is something really wrong." Sakura started, biting her lip she continued, "I think it has to do with his bloodline limit, or his heritage."

"What makes you say that?" Tsunade was now giving Sakura her undivided attention.

"When he attacked Kirume, the nurses say he was acting like a wild…dog. Completely inhuman, something they have never seen before. There were no traces of poison in his organism, or of any sort of control jutsu when Ino entered his mind. It was just…. him." Sakura spoke, her eyes unfocused, but her mind entirely set on what she was saying. "He didn't remember anything, not even what triggered it." Sakura whispered, fascinated by her own words.

"So what do you propose? I just let him walk away, because you say that it's not his fault?" Tsunade asked bitterly.

"No." Sakura rebutted quickly. "Kiba is not innocent here, I'm not saying that, nor should he be allowed to just walk away from this."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Well then, what are you saying?"

"I'd like your permission to arrange meetings with Kiba and examine him, to try to help him."

Tsunade froze. Her pupils dilated and she suddenly dropped her gaze to the ground. Sakura just raised an eyebrow at her mentor.

"No." Tsunade uttered boldly. Sakura made a face, completely taken back by the change in the Hokage's demeanor.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Sakura asked genuinely confused. It was not normal for Tsunade to forbid Sakura helping people, even people like Kiba!

The blonde sighed.

"I cannot allow you to do this," she raised her head, suddenly looking much more tired and old than she usually did, "but I cannot stop you either I suppose." Tsunade then smiled, finally breaking away from that cold, angry face she has sported ever since she entered Sakura's office. Something was off.

"Just like you said, I cannot talk down to you anymore. Since this is a medical matter, I have virtually no right to tell you anything. You are free to do as you wish, you are the Chief Medical Shinobi after all."

Sakura's lips also curved into a small smirk.

"But, I will tell you this. It will have to be in complete secrecy, the council cannot know that you are meeting with him, nor that he has some weird deficit in his bloodline limit." Tsunade suddenly spoke, never taking her eyes of Sakura. The medical ninja just nodded.

"Also…" Tsunade took a deep breath, "I suggest you keep your emotions in check. Your relationship is to stay purely platonic."

Sakura opened her mouth to deny Tsunade's accusation of her feelings towards Kiba, but immediately shut her mouth. There was no point in arguing with Tsunade. She was like her mother, so the kunoichi just nodded.

Tsunade let out another dreary sounds, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Okay, I'll let you finish up here." She said, and turned around, moving towards the door. Just as she was about to leave, she stopped, and turned her head slightly to look at her ex-apprentice.

"But Sakura, if he steps out of line again, even just a little, this time he will face the consequences."

With a slam of the door, she left. Sakura let out an exasperated sigh, and collapsed on her chair. What was she thinking?

* * *

"Urghhhh.." The shinobi groaned in pain, as he flopped down on his unmade bed. He settled on his back, and outstretched his tired arms out, tilting his head up to stare at the ceiling.

'What a day.' Kiba thought miserably to himself, as studied the miniature cracks in the ceiling above his bed. It was almost as if he was looking into his own mind, except the cracks there held memories that Kiba desperately needed to understand but could not, for the love of god recall. Maybe he should just pretend that Sakura's words were a lie, he did not attack an innocent nurse. No, he wouldn't let her words fill the gaps. He did not believe them. He couldn't believe them.

Kiba tried to roll over, but immediately rolled back when he realized his head was ablaze with pain.

'Okay, okay!' Kiba screamed within, 'Fine, it did happen.' It was as if the wounds replaced his consciousness, and they reminded him that he was, indeed, a monster.

The dog nin grunted, now clutching his head in frustration and agony. He cleaned the blood, but the wounds started gushing out more of the red liquid, and now his bed was covered. He left the hospital so suddenly, that even the protesting Sakura, didn't have a chance to heal him up.

Kiba closed his eyes, and breathed heavily.

'Sakura-chan…'

_"No, Kiba. You're not a monster." He heard her say boldly. "You're an animal." Sakura whispered softly._

Kiba eyes shot open, as the memory flooded his mind.

"An animal, eh?" Kiba mumbled. It was funny how these words have changed their meaning over the time. Before, Sakura would always refer to his as an animal, but because of his animalistic behavior in bed. It was the good kind of reference, the kind that reassured Kiba of his skills when it came to pleasing his women. It was praise, and coming from Sakura, who was a little tigress in the bed herself, the remark held that much more meaning to him. He would always feel challenged to take her back to bed, or the wall or whatever, to prove her point.

Now, however, the words frightened him. He brought one of his hands to his head, and studied it. They were normal, human hands.

'But in combat the fingernails grow, and my fingers become claws.' Kiba remarked. His mind wandered further. On top of the claws, he would move on all fours in a battle, his already abnormal canine teeth would elongate, and his pupils thin out further, to resemble the image of an…animal.

'I'm a dog user for fuck's sake. It's my bloodline limit. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's special, and powerful.' Kiba continued his inner turmoil, 'Plus, it's under my control.'

The shinobi sat up on the bed, fed up with his insecurities. 'This wasn't the time to be worrying about these things.' He told himself, as another surge of pain shot through his system. He grasped his head and gritted his teeth to prevent himself from letting out an indication of discomfort. Even alone, he didn't want to show weakness.

Kiba slowly stood up, heading for his bathroom he started stripping all of his clothes off. Maybe a nice warm bath will ease the pain.

Suddenly he spotted a half-finished bottle of sake on his desk.

'And if that won't, this will.' He thought happily as he grabbed the bottle and entered the bathroom, now fully naked.

He took a quick gulp from the bottle, and set it down on the rim of the bath, before he started filling up the bathtub with hot, scorching water. The steam began filling up the bathroom, and soon the mirror was fogged up, and Kiba started feeling very relaxed.

He eased his aching body into the searing water, and let his head lay gently on the edge of the bathtub. He closed his eyes and sighed. Now, this was redemption.

With his mind fogged up like the mirror, he couldn't help but to forget all the bad events of today, and his evil little head brought him back to another kind of problem, one that has bothered him for months.

'Sakura.'

Well, to be exact, Sakura and his dick, but those were just minor details. It really was all about the pink haired kunoichi.

Seeing her today, hell being on top of her today, really made his body go crazy. She was far more beautiful than he remembered.

'And god…her _tits_.' Kiba groaned in frustration at the memory of her showing off her cleavage, both because he wanted to see more, but also because of the tease he was sure she was providing for rest of the male visitors and staff in the hospital.

She wasn't the most endowed woman in the village, no, in fact, her rack was a rather small one, but they were magnificent, as he remembered: so soft, round and perky. A perfect fit into his callous hands. He also recalled them being extremely sensitive, or maybe he was always too rough, either way, her breast turned him on to no end.

It was one of those things Kiba never really took note of before, because, well they were there, and they were his. But once they broke up, he realized no other pair has excited him on that level. He tried bedding women with double Ds but he found himself annoyed by their ridiculous size, and in the end just complained aloud about how they got in the way. Most women then proceeded to hit him for it.

On the other hand, when he tried to match Sakura's chest, with other woman's, he found himself picking at the most minor details. He was never satisfied.

Today, seeing her, all those memories he has fed on for the past months, came to life, and made him come alive.

Kiba grunted as he felt his penis harden. Even in the hot water, it would not leave him alone.

Then Kiba suddenly recalled another interesting event of today, smelling Sakura's arousal. The dog nin, grasped both sides of the bathtub, at the memory of her scent in that state. He hasn't smelled it in months, and it made him wild with need. He couldn't believe he had caught her in that situation. He couldn't help but to angrily wonder if the source of her excitement was another man, and just the thought made Kiba sick, and furious. No one else was allowed to make her feel like that. She belonged to _him._

Suddenly Kiba's anger, turned into sexual frustration. He wanted that damn woman so much, and encountering her today, caused his control to slip a little, he felt cracks now forming in his will to stay away from her.

The tanned man grabbed his throbbing member, and with the image of a moaning, sweaty Sakura, he began pumping himself.

He imagined her, in the bathtub, sitting in the water, here with him, naked, wet, and flustered. Her beautiful ivory skin would be catching a pink tint from the heat of the water and also from her arousal that _he_ caused. She would settle herself between his legs, and innocently look up at him with her big, emerald eyes, pleading, no, begging for his attention.

Kiba growled with pleasure, and his grip only tightened. He started moving his hand faster up and down his shaft. His other hand that was still holding on to the edge of the tub, started turning white from the pressure and the force of his grip. He tried to hold on to something, _to sanity_, before he could explode. His mind completely focused on the imaginary scene in front of him.

The pink haired beauty would smile evilly at him, and placed her small, delicate hands on his hard-on. She started moving, alternating between strong, almost painful grasps, to soft, gentle squeezes. The kunoichi knew very well what he liked, and she often enjoyed going beyond that.

"_How does it feel, Kiba-kun?"_

The dog nin suddenly heard her say in his head. He shuddered at her ironically innocent tone. The sounds of his name, coming from her luscious lips made him shiver.

She was staring up at him, her big green eyes sparkling playfully, her modest breasts pushed together, and as his eyes travelled lower, he watched her feminine hand move furiously up and down his dick, before her head dipped low and she took the head into her little, hot mouth.

Kiba sucked in his breath, as the thought of his hard-on in her mouth shoot through him like an electric shock. He lifted his hips desperately, and bucked against his hand, his pace frantically quickening.

He let out an animalistic growl, as his mind became clouded with images of Sakura going down on him. He could suddenly smell her scent all around him, and he felt his mind slipping. The air became very dense; he opened his mouth in a silent scream, trying to catch more air, feeling his fangs grow in need and anticipation.

Kiba's now heavy breathing, sped up, as he heard his own heartbeat feverishly beating. He arched his back in pleasure, and closed his eyes, seconds before he felt his entire body tense, just as a hot white pleasure shoot through and he finally exploded.

The exhausted man just laid there lifelessly for couple of minutes.

Kiba's slowly opened his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. He tried to control his still irregular breathing, as his body was still recovering from the powerful release. The dog nin closed his eyes again, and sunk his entire form into the water.

He had a strange feeling about touching himself while thinking of his ex-girlfriend. He had reached a first, somewhat satisfying, orgasm in three months, just thanks to her scent still being fresh in his mind. His body shuddered at the thought of having actual sex with her, and his penis grew hard again.

Kiba opened his eyes underwater, in defiance. This was insane.

'Still not satisfied?' he thought angrily, looking at his crotch, 'You have got to be fucking kidding me!'

The shinobi jumped out of the bathtub furiously. The heat was getting to him, and if he stayed there any longer he might have ended up jerking off again. That was unacceptable and pathetic! He was extremely horny again, so he might as well go out and find some desperate girl and bang her.

Suddenly Kiba stopped him, at realization.

'That won't change anything.' He thought in dismay, his blood boiling in anger.

"Because nothing fucking works!" he screamed in frustration, and before he knew it, his fist was connecting with the surface of the mirror, and then there were shards flying all about. He masterfully dodged all the pointy shards, and just stared at the now messy ground. He noticed blood dripping from his fist instead of his head.

Kiba clutched his head with agony. Not because of the pain, or because of the broken glass. No, it was because of his still painful erection.

* * *

Sakura walked nervously down the street, towards the Inuzuka compound. She hasn't visited this part of the village for…well… three months. Maybe more, in the last month of their relationship, she spent an awful amount of time in the hospital, so even when she was with Kiba, doing _things_, they would be doing them, there.

'Ahhh doing things with Kiba…' Sakura thought absent-mindedly, almost drooling. Her eyes went a little blurry, her mind lost, and before she knew it she had tripped on the little welcoming stairs to the gate of the Inuzuka complex, and fell down, face first right at the entrance

"Ow, ow. ow." The medic ninja grunted. What a ninja she was! Sakura thought miserably as she allowed the green, medical chakra to skid over her face gently, healing the injury.

This was all Kiba's fault! Her lack of concentration had been his fault for the past three months, and here she was going to see him! She should just turn around and run because there is no way she could do this without keeping a platonic relationship. Even in this fucking moment, she could feel the moisture seeping through her panties, as anticipation of laying her eyes on the dog nin, made her loins ablaze.

Sakura closed her eyes in concentration, as she forced her chakra to suppress the sexual feeling between her legs.

'There.' She thoughts somewhat happily, when she no longer felt that desolate need to fuck her former boyfriend. This was a little jutsu, Sakura had taught herself, and perfected to the point when she did not require any hand seals or movements what so ever. She designed it so that she could suppress arousal, at any place she found herself in: an important meeting, operation, or apparently a visit to the Inuzuka compound.

The kunoichi let out a deep sigh to compose herself, and got up, straightening her hair with her hand in the process. She could at least look presentable. She was no longer wearing her white, hospital coat, but her grey pencil skirt and white blouse remained. Surely, it wasn't the standout ninja get-up, but it wasn't like Sakura was awfully busy _being_ a ninja lately.

Ever since she became the Chief Medical shinobi, Sakura noticed her mission load visible lowered. In fact, the only mission she has been sent on in the past three months was a trip to Cloud, to sign an international medical treaty between the two villages, which allowed trade in medical equipment, knowledge and staff. Sakura thought it was a great leap forward for both villages, but couldn't help but to feel annoyed when Tsuande sent two members of the ANBU, and Kakashi to escort her.

_"Tsunade-sama, I'm an elite jounin now, I don't need all this protection." Sakura protested to the Hokage's announcement. Two ANBU and Kakashi? That's ridiculous. It's not even a real mission._

_"Sakura." Tsunade started, her hands crossed on her desk, "You must understand, with this position, comes a certain level of danger, and we must take many precautions to ensure a flawless signing of the treaty." Tsunade explained, in her usual, bold tone._

_"But two ANBU? I think just sending Kakashi alone will do just fine."_

_"No, I have made up my mind. Two ANBU and Kakashi, will all escort you to the Hidden Cloud. End of discussion."_

Sakura let out an irritated sigh. She was being protected like some fucking princess. How ridiculous was this? She was seriously growing sick of this insane level of protection.

'Maybe it will end when the council finds out what Kiba did, and they will make it their goal to get me killed.' Sakura thought to herself dryly, as she entered the well-known compound, and headed for the main door.

She knocked softly, fully aware of the fact, that every member of the Inuzuka clan already knew that she had entered their property. Aside from their ridiculous sense of smell, she had made quite the ruckus at the front steps when she fell.

"Sakura-chan!" chirped Hana as she threw the door open. "Long time no see!"

Sakura smiled warmly at Hana, glad that Kiba's sister seemed to genuinely happy to see her. Hana and Sakura became very close, during Sakura's relationship with Kiba. They both shared interest in medical ninjutsu, and both strived to be powerful kunoichi. Sakura liked Hana the best out of the family, besides Kiba of course, as Hana always seemed to understand her, even when Kiba did not.

_"Girls stick together yea?" _Something Hana always used to say. The memory suddenly made Sakura very sad, as after her breakup with Kiba, she had not seen Hana at all.

"No kidding. How are you?" Sakura replied with much returned enthusiasm

"Can't complain. Came to see Kiba I presume?" Hana asked sheepishly. She never really accepted their breakup.

"Ummmm…yes. He ran out of the hospital so suddenly, so I came to check up on him, to see if he needs anymore…medical assistance." Sakura mumbled at her last words, suddenly very aware of the fact that she had come all the way across the village just to see if her ex-boyfriends needed some _medical assistance_. Subtle.

"Right." Hana smiled evilly, 'He's in his room, and I think you know very well where that is.'

Sakura smiled, ignoring Hana's words. 'Thanks.' The medic turned, and moved in the direction of Kiba's room.

"But I do remember once coming home, and finding you two, fucking like bunnies, on the kitchen table, so maybe you don't know where his room is?" Hana said innocently, continuously smiling at Sakura, who now was tomato red. The dog user laughed slyly, and was gone with a quick puff.

The pink haired woman just shrugged it off with laughter, and now hurried towards Kiba's room. Hana always had the best things to say, didn't she? Now, that she brought that event up, Sakura could feel the warmth from her face, travel down to her crotch, stirring up a fire.

'Great.' Sakura thought dryly, as she stopped at her ex-lover's door.

Before she could knock, the door was thrown open violently, and there he was, standing proudly.

He was shirtless. That was the first thing Sakura noticed, obviously. It made the young woman gulp. His torso was muscled, but lean, just like she remembered. Fine scars scattered all across his tan skin. His pecks very defined, and her eyes fell lower to his lovely abs, and then continued down, eyeing the path of hair starting at his belly button, and leading down into his sweatpants…

Sakura was drooling. She must've been. The medic brought her hand up to her face and when she, in fact, felt moisture at her lips, she wanted to die. This was out most embarrassing, and all she could focus on was the tingling feeling that had shot through her womanhood and was now causing her feminine muscles to pulsate in anticipation.

She felt a drop of sweat, roll down her abnormal forehead.

"How does it feel, Kiba?" Sakura mumbled softly, referring to his injuries, shamelessly, never taking her eyes of the waistband of his sweatpants.

Kiba stiffened at her words. Was his dream coming to life? The dog nin pressed his lips into a firm line, when he suddenly smelt her juices again, and this time, it was her fingers that were reeking of the scent.

"You have been touching yourself, princess," he grunted out of nowhere.

Sakura's head snapped up to meet his gaze, which she noticed was one she knew very well, dark, dangerous and full of lust. He wasn't smiling, he was being dead serious, and she noted how his eyes dropped down to her crotch. Her now flushed cheeks fumed in embarrassment anger.

"What! You-"

He caught Sakura's scent about 20 minutes ago. This girl had the most distinctive aroma he had even encountered. It was indescribable, it was just…Sakura. No, not a cherry blossom, it was just her special and unique scent, and he was unhealthily addicted to it.

Then, he caught the scent of her arousal, and boy did that drive him crazy. His body immediately reacted. Aside his immense hard-on, he noticed his claws coming out, his fang stretching out and the hair all over his body standing up in alert. He had to suppress his strength, otherwise the door that he had so unfashionable slammed open, would be in broken into numerous pieces by now. Because the moment he smelled her near enough for contact, he urged to see her.

Now that she was in front of him, he could clearly smell her essence on her fingers, and that meant only one thing, that she had been touching herself, pleasuring herself and that very thought made Kiba's toes curl. Imagining this petite woman, on the bed, naked and sweaty. Her face distorted in pleasure, and her hands working wildly in between her legs, all the while, thinking of him of course.

"I hope at my expense." Kiba finished his thought in a husky rasp. It was all he could do, not to throw this woman against the nearest wall and fuck the living day out of her. Instead he clenched his knuckles tightly by his side, until their turned white and tried to subtly steady his quickened breathing.

It was the last thing he expected, to see Sakura break down, and pull his face down to hers. She had the plan to attack his mouth and take him, but as the good shinobi that he was, he foresaw her attack and planned a counter attack. It was his mouth that crashed on hers first, and almost knocked her breath away.

Sakura felt herself slipping away, drowning in the wonderful sensation. It was powerful thought, as if she was warming herself pleasantly by the fire, but then she would get too close and start to burn.

His lips nibbled on hers hungrily, his tongue coming out to trace her bottom lip and before she knew it he was forcing her lips apart and entering her hot carven by force. Force, she'd gladly surrender to. She let out a muffled moan, as her hands shot up to his head, clutching and pulling on his hair roughly, demonstrating her desperation.

The kiss was hot, fast, messy and desperate, but at the same time it was heart warming. This was like coming home, returning to where you belong, for both. There was no awkwardness, no aimless exploration with the risk of getting lost. They both knew each other, they both wanted each other and at this moment they were both most certainly going for it.

Sakura pulled hard on his hair, and he growled in pain in response that, at this point, turned him on beyond belief. His own hands have already wrapped heatedly around her waist, and were now clutching her form tightly to him, indicting his dominance. She proceeded to cling fully to him, by taking her feet off the floor and wrapping them tightly around his waist, knowingly bringing her heat to meet his throbbing erection.

Lost were her doubts, her reservations. They did not matter; they did not cross her mind at all. All she could just think about was this man, and what she wanted to do next to him.

She wantonly grinded her hips against his, desperate for some kind of satisfaction, that has been denied to her in months. Kiba's hands moved quickly to her ass, squeezing the firm cheeks, and pushing her pelvis roughly against his own, creating torturous friction. He let out an animalistic growl, and she felt the naughty vibrations of his response in their heated kiss. His tongue coaxed her own to move restlessly about her mouth, before he swept it away, grazing her teeth and exploring every inch of her mouth, as if to remember what it all felt like.

Sakura writhed in pleasure, as their passionate kiss escalated to the point where she wasn't sure which tongue in her mouth belonged to her. She could feel his fingers clawing at her back and his throbbing hard-on rubbing hastily against her molten heat. She bucked her hips against his and arched her back as she was suddenly thrown into the wall, and then pushed against the smooth surface. All she could do was moan, whimper and beg for more.

'Still…totally…platonic.'

Sakura thought hazily in-between her staggered sobs of pleasure.


	4. Flaming Red

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 4: Flaming Red**

* * *

Sakura's head fell back, her eyes rolling to the back of her head; she let out another raspy moan. The air grew heavy, and suddenly the kunoichi had a hard time breathing. It probably had to do something with the hot, half-naked man, who was currently aggressively sucking on the sensitive skin below her ear.

"Kiba-" Sakura began her thought with hazed eyes, but was soon cut off by the actions of her ex-boyfriend.

The kunoichi's mouth fell open in silent scream, when Kiba bit down suddenly, breaking the skin on her neck, and letting his fangs rest in place, as her blood started dripping out of the wound. The tanned man started possessively licking the wound, as if apologizing for any pain he may have caused.

It was rather painful, Sakura noted, as the dull pain shot through her system, but considering her agonizing moments in battles throughout her ninja career, this pain level was laughable, and moreover, in this aroused state, Sakura felt only rapture, when his fangs sunk in.

Kiba often bit her during their coupling. Hickeys and love bits were all part of his sexual expression. The tingling discomfort that followed such acts, only intensified the pleasure Sakura was experiencing.

The peak of ecstasy was when Kiba would bite down on her, during her climax, when her body was most sensitive, most vulnerable. Such pleasure would rake through her body, that she would begin to sob, and claw down on Kiba's back or bicep or whatever she could get her hands on.

Kiba would often express his delight at this reaction, and afterwards, when they both bathed in the afterglow of their love-making, he would describe in detail, sometimes in too much detail, what Sakura looked like in that moment, and what she was doing. The medic ninja would always turn crimson red at his coarse words, and proceeded to punch him through a wall. The dog nin, who always found her aggressiveness and strength extremely arousing, and would then pounce at her, to begin their naughty activities again.

Sakura started to sob in frustration, as this single bite brought back all those memories of their heated nights. Her grip on his hair tightened, to a point where Kiba grunted in discomfort, and as if punishing her, he slapped her ass hard.

"Naughty bitch." Kiba mumbled, as Sakura whimpered.

Hearing her cry out, his callous hands grabbed her rear tighter as he hosted her form further up the wall, and his own body moved lower, his tongue trailing down, leaving glistening train of saliva down her septum.

"Ohhhhh…Kiba…"

The shinobi, long gone, just growled back at her and let his instincts carry him. One of his hands rushed up to grasp her breast tightly, and squeezing it roughly, earning another loud sob from the woman under him.

He was merciless, and he took what he wanted, what _belonged_ to him, and what he has been denied for so long.

"You are my, bitch, my only." Kiba uttered harshly under his breath, as his head dipped low to play with the skin just above her breasts, leaving angry red marks all over her skin. His second hand came up to join the hand that was violently kneading her breast, and started tearing the buttons of her blouse off clumsily, as he desperate tried to make contact with her bare skin.

Sakura suddenly became very aware of what she was doing, and _whom_ she was doing it with.

_"You know what? Fuck this shit. I thought by telling you 'I loved you' you'd be all happy, on your knees sucking my dick, but it looks like shit like that doesn't work any more does it?" he said bluntly._

_Sakura exploded. She tightened her fist and dashed forward, aiming to kill_

_"Fuck you Inuzuka! You can go to hell"!_

The memories of their breakup rushed to her head, as her sensible, ninja sense kicked in.

**'Extinguish the flame before it swallows you whole.' **Sakura's inner whispered, as the kunoichi momentary lost herself in Kiba's impudent ministrations.

"Stop…" Sakura mumbled hastily, meaning completely lost in her soft tone, as she finally composed her mind and identified her duty to stop these actions, for her sake and his.

Kiba completely oblivious to her words, finally managed to rip off enough of the blouse's buttons to pull it down, off of her shoulders and let his hands manically roam across her bra-covered chest.

His touch was barbaric, rushed and somewhat clumsy. He was like a child that had waited days patiently to open his Christmas gift, only to tear the carefully wrapped thing apart.

His gropes were no longer budding with pleasure as Sakura gasped at a sudden rush of pain.

"Kiba!" she hissed in warning.

He brushed her hissing off, and instead moved his head back to the supple skin above her chest, and with wet kisses, started moving his way up to her head, presumably her mouth.

'Oh, no you don't.' Sakura thought spitefully, as she dragged her fingernails, from his scalp down the sides of his face, infusing them with chakra, she could already see blazing red marks on his face.

Kiba's head snapped up in shock, and his widened eyes stared at her for just a few seconds before the open mouth turned into an evil smirk, and in a flash of an eye Sakura was turned around and roughly shoved against the wall, with her backside completely pressed up against the aroused man.

"I don't remember you being this much of a wildcat, Sakura." Kiba whispered dangerously into her ear, his hot breath meeting her burning skin. One of his hands was holding her tightly around her waist, while the other was clutching her shoulder.

"Kiba, get off of me." Sakura whimpered, her confidence lost, when she felt his throbbing member against her lower back, clearly demonstrating his desire for her.

"But Sakura, I'm not satisfied yet, and I can smell that neither are you." The dog nin continued playfully, as his hot little tongue darted out to play with the shell of her ear.

"That's irrelevant. We are not together anymore, so we can't be doing these things and besides-"

Sakura's sentence was cut off, as one of Kiba's larger hands travelled south and up her skirt, into her panties and with a rough thrust, inserted one of his long fingers completely into her drenched warmth. The kunoichi cried out, hands bracing against the wall desperately trying to regain the control she felt earlier. Sakura has been so aroused, and so desperate for the past three months that this simple act already had her knees wobbling, and she wondered if it was possible that she would come all over his hand just like that.

"God Sakura, you are so tight, so hot and so very wet for me." Kiba whispered arrogantly.

Sakura's mind was spinning in mindless circles, all she could focus on was that finger, deliciously deep inside her, and that hot breath on her ear, and that _voice…_

**'That's enough, Sakura.' **Inner Sakura hissed frantically, **'Stop it, now.'**

Sakura still stood there, sandwiched between the wall and the panting man, her mind was still fuzzy, but suddenly her intent was clear. In a matter of a second, she gathered chakra into her entire forearm, and swiftly turning around, she elbowed Kiba in his stomach, sending him flying across room, through the wall. Sakura let out a sigh of relief, finally regaining her posture, she stared at the wall, but clouds of dust have gathered around it, blocking Sakura's vision. She just assumed Kiba ended up on the porch outside of his room.

Suddenly feeling guilty, she quickly moved to it, and as the dust began to settle she spotted an unmoving body, about 20 meters away from the porch she thought he would end up on, slumped against the wooden fence, that enclosed the entire Inuzuka compound.

'Maybe, I used a little more than necessary.' Sakura thought angrily, as she made her way towards the beaten up man. He slouched against the surface of the fence, which she noted was now cracked exactly at the spot where Kiba was leaning against it. His head hung low, and his heavy breath moved his entire torso.

'At least he still breathing.'

"Kiba." Sakura said firmly, hand reaching out for his face. Suddenly a much bigger, tan hand came up and stopped hers. Sakura jerked back in surprise. Her head snapped down in even a bigger shock when she heard low chuckle coming from the dog nin.

"My, my," Kiba looked up, her eyes by habit, already searching his face for all his injuries. She had a sudden urge to heal all the wounds, because seeing Kiba's face so distorted made her heart cringe, "You certainly haven't lost any of your spirit, eh?"

She slapped him again.

"You idiot! Why can't you control yourself! Look what you've made me do!" Sakura screamed at him, standing up, she pointed her small finger at him, "When I say 'stop', I fucking mean 'stop'!"

"See, that logic wouldn't make sense three months ago." Kiba smirked, "Because when you used to say stop, it always meant keep go-" Kiba's witty remark was cut short, as a raspy cough erupted from him. He clutched his rib, and wheezed in pain.

"Shit, Did I break your rib?" Sakura wondered as she bent down, her hands already glowing in green chakra, examining the wound. Her brows furrowed in concentration, as she started pumping her chakra into his system.

Kiba relaxed, as the pleasant, cool feeling of her medical chakra took over. Now that he wasn't in such torturous pain, he took his time to examine her face. She had her trademark, focused face, he always admired. Kiba swore this woman was bipolar, because she could go from a smiling child, to a raging devil and then end up like this, an entirely serious officer.

His thoughts were interrupted when suddenly her face snapped up, her eyes wide in shock, and her mouth open, but evidently lost for words.

"What is it?" Kiba mumbled growing tired of her silence.

"Do you take steroids?"

"What? No, why would I do?" Kiba grinned, "I'm a perfectly healthy male as you can see."

"Then…how?" Sakura removed her hands, examining her own palms.

"Sakura?"

"I've detected _abnormal_ levels of testosterone in your blood, but by abnormal I mean at least 100 times larger amount than the average." Sakura dropped her hands in defeat, her face meeting his, "How is that even humanly possible?"

"Well, I'm extremely masculine." Kiba snickered, suddenly feeling very good after her treatment, "Oh, don't be so surprised Sakura, I'm sure you've seen more abnormal things in your life a medical ninja."

"Yeah, but even before, your levels surely were above the average, but not by this much!" Sakura exclaimed, panic in her voice. No wonder Kiba was acting like an animal, uncontrollable and wild, his system was – is, completely clogged up by hormones. The thing that truly puzzled Sakura was _how_ he achieved these high levels, and how he had managed to appear so normal.

"Sakura, are you okay? You look very pale."

Kiba's voice snapped her back into reality.

"Oh-yes. I just…" Sakura trailed off, still amazed at her new discovery, "It explains everything! Well, more or less."

"What do you mean?" The shinobi scratched his head in confusion.

"Testosterone is a steroid hormone, more precisely a principal male sex hormone-"

"Yeah, Sakura, I know," Kiba interrupted smugly, "It ensures I have a big dick."

"Shut up and listen!" Sakura yelled as her hand momentarily met Kiba's cheek, leaving an angry red mark.

"Ow! Damn it Sakura!"

"As, I was saying," she started, eyeing Kiba dangerously, awaiting another interruption from him. When she assured herself he would stay quiet, she continued, "Testosterone is a principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid, meaning it is responsible for the development of male characteristics, like you said, for example penis growth, but there are other…adverse effects of this steroid."

"Such as?" Kiba mumbled, not really interested in what Sakura was saying, because he started to take note of his growing erection again, and her scent.

"Besides all the internal damage, such as the damage of the immune system, blood pressure, harmful changes in cholesterol levels, liver damage…there are psychiatric effects." Sakura, now completely engrossed in her own words, continued, "Aggression, violence, hysteria, even hypomania and hypersexuality."

Sakura has finally caught Kiba's attention, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Do you see Kiba? You are basically _supposed _to act like a wild, hostile animal with an extreme sex-drive."

"You got that right." Kiba murmured as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. She fell on top of his lap, and he wasted on time in attacking her lips and running his hands down the sides of her body.

"N-no…" Sakura whimpered, 'Not this time.' She thought as she swiftly placed both of her hands on his hips, and pushed chakra down to his groin. His erection immediately disappeared.

"What did you do?" Kiba yelled horrified, staring at his now limp member.

"Relax, I just calmed you down, so we could talk." Sakura remarked, trying hard not to stare at his shirtless torso, which still made her needy. She quickly got off his perfect frame, "I think these enormous levels of hormones that are pumping through you have to do with your attack at Kirume, and I think we can figure out how to stop it, with this new information."

Something in Kiba snapped, his eyes suddenly narrowed and he clenched his teeth, baring his sharp fangs.

"Look Sakura, I'm sorry about what happened in the hospital, but it won't happen again, I can assure you of that." The shinobi said as he stood up slowly, still aware of his many injuries he had accumulated during the day.

"But how do you know that? You don't even remember it, so how can you make sure that-"

"Oh, and you know?" Kiba snapped at her, his face suddenly very dangerously close to her, but not in the same manner as before. Sakura took a step back, not out of fear, on the contrary, so she could stand her own ground. This didn't go unnoticed by the dog nin. When will she ever be afraid of him?

"Well no, but I want to! I want to figure this out and help you!"

"Why would I need your help? Why would you want to help me?" Kiba's face darkened, "You dumped me remember? Like trash, and never looked back."

The words stung. 'That's not true.' Sakura thought miserably.

"So why are you wasting your time here with me? You should be at your perfect little hospital, where everyone kisses the ground you walk on!" he barked at her. How dare she stand in front of him, demanding _him_ to give her his time? She kicked him away, she treated him like dirt, she had plagued his mind, she had made him suffer in the past three months, and now she shows up at his door, making him lose control, lose his pride, and for what? So she could lecture him?

"Kiba, listen I-"

"Get out."

His words were cold, perhaps even colder than the words he spoke on the day of their breakup.

"You're a fool." Sakura uttered, her fists clenching, "I just want to help you. As one shinobi to another, why can't you acknowledge that? Why do you have to make things to personal?"

"Don't make me laugh, Sakura. You are not a shinobi anymore." Kiba actually sniggered, "You've chosen to be the Tsunade's bitch a long time ago, and now you've moved on to be a fucking slave for the entire council. While all of your friends, are out there everyday, putting their lives on the line for the safety and well being of everyone in the village, you sit in that little office of yours, and sign a paper or two. I'm sure you feel mighty proud of yourself. "

Sakura blinked away a tear that was threating to slide down her cheek. She wouldn't cry for him, she wouldn't give him that pleasure of seeing her break down.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" The medic ninja said, still clenching and unclenching her fists. "You think you know how everything works?"

"Of course I don't." Kiba retorted, "I didn't sell my soul for a meaningless title, that was you, remember?"

"You don't understand." Sakura looked down, avoiding his gaze. It was starting to burn. "You were born into a title, your destiny was laid out for you, even before you came to this world. You were given all your responsibilities from the very beginning, to lead your clan, to uphold family honor, to protect the village in the name of the great Inuzuka." Sakura's head shook, at this point Kiba wasn't sure if she was talking to him, or just herself, but then she finally lifted her head, and looked him straight into the eyes.

"You know what I was born into? A meek life of a civilian." Sakura smiled, but her eyes still told tales of hatred, "I had to make the sacrifices your ancestors did for your family decades ago, and if you must know, I'm proud. I'm very proud of myself."

"Well, I'm glad everything is working out for you then." Kiba returned the fake smile, "So you may leave, if you are not here to fuck that is, because I smell the need all over you."

Sakura cringed on the inside. Damn that Inuzuka nose. He was going throw that into her face now? Too bad for him, she knew how to play him.

"That maybe true, but the need I have is certainly not for you." The pink haired woman smirked.

"Surely, that didn't seem to be the case five minutes ago." To prove his point, angered at her audacity, Kiba brought the finger that no doubt was inside her just moments ago, to his mouth and sucked on it, devouring it, he eyed Sakura's reaction. The kunoichi made a point not to move a muscle.

"You'll never touch me again, Inuzuka." She growled her voice dripping in venom, "And if you really don't want my help, then have it your way, but I'll have you know if it wasn't for me, you'd be facing the council at the moment, beginning for mercy, like a _dog._"

"Well that's me isn't it?" Kiba smirked.

"But, Inuzuka, mark my words, you step out of line again, you'll face the punishment, and in the power of Tsunade's bitch, I'll make sure it reflects the crime myself." Sakura snapped, and in that moment she disappeared in white cloud of cherry blossom petals.

Kiba stared at the spot, his ex-girlfriend stood at just a moment ago.

Her disrespectful was down right irritating. The anger he has suppressed inside him finally exploded as he sharply turned around, and punched through the wooden face. The section of the fence snapped into numerous pieces, and grumbled to the ground.

He clenched his now bleeding hand. God, this woman was so exasperating. How dare she talk to him like that? How dare she imply she will fuck someone else?

'What? Not _that_ again!' Kiba thought angrily, at the fact that he was back to thinking sexually of her.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when a strong, low, feminine voice roared through the area.

"Kiba Inuzuka! What the hell is going on!"

He turned around and immediately paled, it was his mother, and she was making her way incredible fast towards him.

"Mother!" he greeted her, making sure to coat his voice with as much honey as possible, "How are y-"

Tsume, ignoring his words, grasped his neck and showed him against the fence, the part that was still intact.

"You miss a clan meeting, and now I find you destroying my fence!?" she barked at him angrily. Kiba gulped, and stared at the giant hole in the wall of his room. Big mistake. Tsume followed his eyes, and fumed when she saw the damage on her house. She snapped back at him, "You better have a damn good excuse for this!"

"Mother…" Kiba tried to answer, but he had a hard time breathing, as his mother was squeezing his windpipe immensely.

Suddenly Tsume's nose flared, as she took in the scent around them. 'Not good.' Kiba thought helplessly.

"_Haruno!_" Tsume exclaimed, finally dropping Kiba to the floor, "Where is that little bitch?"

Tsume never took liking of Sakura. Kiba never truly understood why, Sakura was just like his mother, and he knew his mother only acknowledged strong, powerful kunoichi, exactly like Tsunade, and without a doubt Sakura. Yet, she always acted spiteful towards her. Hana told him once, it was because Tsume was threatened by Sakura, she viewed her as a female that could possible challenge Tsume for the title of the alpha female. Kiba always dismissed this, because when Sakura was around his mother she always acted kind and sweet. Maybe that was why Tsume never like her, she wanted her to be aggressive. Either way, when they broke up, his mother's dislike defiantly grew and every time someone just mentioned the name Sakura, she would flare up and fume until everyone around her hid in fear.

Kiba slowly rose to his feet.

"She's gone." He mumbled, scratching his aching neck.

"God, I swear, when I find that little bitch, I will kill her."

Kiba rolled his eyes at his mother, not because he didn't believe her. He knew she would almost certainly attack Sakura with the intent to kill, it was more because of the fact that he heard Tsume utter that line hundred of time, and it became just a habit for him to react like that, plus he had a nagging feeling, Sakura would pound Tsume to the ground, but there was no way he would mention anything like that to his mother.

"So… the clan meeting?" Kiba asked, "What did I miss?"

Tsume raised her eyebrow, crossing her hands over her chest, she stomped her feet.

"How old are you Kiba?"

"Uh...22." Kiba answered, unsure.

"When are you turning 23?"

"Uhh…in three weeks." Kiba replied softly, not liking her increasingly irritated tone one bit.

Tsume rolled her eyes, at her son that was evidently still not catching on.

"What happens to the child of the alpha at the age of 24?" his mother stomped her foot.

"He becomes the alpha." Kiba smiled, sheepishly. That's right, he was almost the clan leader wasn't he? Sweet.

"And what happens a year before that, when the said child is 23?" Tsume focused he eyes on her son, awaiting a response. Kiba just stared at her. He had absolutely no idea.

"Ummm…he throws a big party?" Kiba grinned.

"You big idiot!" Tsume screamed, as she smacked him across the head, "How are you supposed to lead this clan, if you aren't even aware of all your deadlines!"

"Deadlines?" Kiba whimpered, clutching his head.

His mother suddenly, leaped at him, clutching his shoulders, she pulled him towards her and in a blink of a moment he found himself standing in the Inuzuka meeting hall. Kiba untangled himself from his mother's rough grasp and tried to stabilize his shaky stance.

"Damn it ma! You know I hate the teleportation jutsu!"

"And I hate that my son doesn't know shit about his responsibilities! Tsume yelled back at him. Kiba stood there, taken back at his mother's words.

"Mother…" Kiba started, not quite sure what he planned to say, "I'm sorry…you are right, I need to take more responsibility, if I am to lead the clan in a year."

"You know I believe in you, more than anyone." Tsume replied, smiling, ruffling Kiba's hair playfully.

"That's…reassuring?"

She hit him instinctively, "Of course it is you idiot! Mother always knows best."

Kiba sighed.

"So, what was the deadline thing you were talking about?"

"Huh?" Tsume looked at her son, surprised. "Oh, right." She moved back, to stand in front of a massive wall, with many shelves, all the way to the ceiling, all stacked up with various scrolls, and books.

"When the child of the alpha, reaches the age of 23, he is to confirm his maturity and thus use the coming year, to prepare for his or her new position." Tsume spoke, as her hand travelled across one of the shelves, fingers grazing each scroll, and book in their path.

"Confirm my maturity?" Kiba wondered out loud, "What do you mean?"

"It is very simple Kiba, really-ah! Here it is!" Tsume exclaimed happily as she grasped the said scroll, and brought it down. She moved to the large, round table in the middle of the room, and spread the scroll out.

"To validate your maturity, you are to mate your blood bound, to officially enter adulthood, and use the coming year to bind yourself entirely to your mate, and together, get ready to lead the clan, as an alpha couple. Tsume spoke calmly, as she studied the scroll.

"My what?" Kiba gaped at shock.

Tsume looked up, face as passive as ever. "Your blood bound. A female you have been bounded to with blood since birth." She cocked her head at one side, "Do you seriously, not know any of the clan's traditions?"

"I…I mean, yeah the whole mate thing by the age of 23 sounds familiar," Kiba scratched his chin in thought, "but a blood bound…? Nope doesn't ring a bell."

"Well, I'll ring it for you." Tsume said sourly, as she motioned for Kiba to come closer, "Look, here's her name, bound to yours on this scroll."

Kiba came closer, to inspect the scroll. There, right in the middle was sort of ying-yang shaped circle, made of what seemed to be two blood stains, meeting in the center, and above this circle, there were two names, written again in blood. He immediately recognized his name, but his throat grew dry at the sight of the name next to his.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

It was late, the sun had set and the temperature dropped.

Sakura sat on his roof, quietly. She knew he would sense her presence, he probably sensed it already, when she was just travelling here. She was sitting right above his window, and waited, her pink haired ruffled by the wind, and her cold stare weakened by the strong gushes of air.

Suddenly he was sitting behind her. His strong legs on either side of her small frame, his callous hand on her waist, bringing her closer to him. She leaned against, settling her head just below his chin, her body resting on his muscled torso. She suddenly felt very small.

One of his hands grasped her shaking hand, holding.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" his asked gently, leaning his head down to hers, so he could hear above the sound of the wind.

"Am I really a bad person, Naruto?"

The blonde stiffened, squeezing her hand tightly, his breath rasped.

"Why would you even think that?" he growled, angry.

"I don't know…I just-"

"Kiba." Naruto uttered, as if he figured out something big. The kunoichi winced. Yes, it was Kiba. It was always Kiba. She felt Naruto grasp on he waist tightened, as he brought her closer to his chest. She could feel his steady heartbeat, against her back, and it reassured her of his strong life force. It reassured her that he would be there for her. He always was.

She knew she didn't deserve him. She realized that a long time ago. He had loved her for more than a decade now, and she never returned his love. Instead she would chase around other boys, and after getting hurt, she would come back to him for comfort, because he was the only one that would always welcome her. Why did he let her do this to him?

"Sakura."

His strong voice brought her back from her thoughts.

"He doesn't deserve you, and he most certainly does not deserve your tears." He muttered, his thumb grazing her knuckles lovingly.

Sakura didn't even realize she was crying, until she tasted her own salty tears on her lips. That's when her vision broke, and she wailed.

"Damn you, Naruto." She whispered accusatory between her sobs, as he clutched her closer to him. Holding her tight, he whispered, "Shhhhh…Sakura, please. Please tell me everything."

So she did, and she could only stare at fascination at his attentive face as she spoke of everything that has broken her down over the past three months.


	5. Burning

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. _**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 5: Burning**

* * *

"You're joking, right?" Kiba stared bewildered at the scroll, which was proclaiming that he and sweet, little, Hinata-chan, were to _fuck_ each other in the coming weeks and eventually lead the Inuzuka clan. There was no way this was true, it couldn't be.

"Does this look like a joke to you?" Tsune retorted, evidently fed up by her son's endless staring.

"Well, honestly, yes." Kiba looked up, meeting his mother's cold gaze, "Hinata-chan is like my sister, for fuck's sake. I can't do this…not with her."

"I know it may seem a little unorthodox, but once the mating ritual is complete, it will feel so right." Tsume said, her voice softening, momentary, which made Kiba perk up with interest, his mother _never_ got soft. "You will feel complete."

"I don't love her, not like that."

"Love, has nothing to do with this Kiba, you don't understand. When you bond someone, nothing else matters, no one else matters."

Kiba's eyes hardened, the way his mother said exaggerated 'no one' was far too forced and heavily coated with an emotion Kiba could only describe as hatred.

"Is that so?" Kiba asked, taking the control in their conversation, "I have no choice?"

"The choice has already been made. You have wasted enough time, and now you have just three weeks to finalize your relationship with Hinata." Tsume talked, her eyes left Kiba a while ago, and now she was focusing on rolling the scroll up and putting it back where it belonged.

Something wasn't right; Kiba just knew it. His mother was acting…strange to say the least.

"What do you mean by wasting time? I didn't know about this shit until now!" Kiba growled at the woman who was now blatantly ignoring him.

"Well that's because you never came to the fucking meetings!" Tsume snapped at Kiba, finally turning her back to look at him, her face looked strained, "You never took your responsibilities seriously, and you were always on missions, or with your friends or with _her."_

Kiba stiffened; of course she would throw Sakura in his face.

"She was my girlfriend, what do you expect?" Kiba barked, fists clenching and unclenching simultaneously.

"I expected exactly, what happened. You fell in love with her, I saw it, I smelled it." Tsume spoke, her voice losing volume, but attaining a new quality, that Kiba most certainly did not like, "And then she just left, dumped you for her career."

"_What?"_ Kiba gaped at his mother. He has never told her that Sakura broke up with him _because_ of her new position, nor did he tell anyone for that matter. The thing he did tell was that it just did not work out between them too, and they had to end it before it got too unbearable. That's what he told his friends, his family, and his mother.

The shinobi watched her, he noted how Tsume's eyes widened, and, she slowly closed her mouth and met Kiba's hard gaze.

"Well, it was obvious, really." She said nonchalantly, flipping her hair back.

"No. It was not." Kiba said sternly, anger growing within him, "How do you know?"

Tsume remained silent, eyeing her son who was flaming up in front of her.

"Tell me." Kiba uttered slowly, controlling his voice, trying not to yell at his mother.

"I did, what was best for you." Tsume began, her voice strained, but her gaze and stance hard, "What was best for the clan."

"What did you do?" Kiba was now screaming, his anger getting the best of him.

"I…directed the council into Sakura's direction. I guess you can say I am partially responsible for their decision to appoint Sakura Haruno as the Chief Medical Shinobi." Tsume said. Her eyes had fallen to the floor, not in shame, nor in fear, but rather in a lazy manner, as if she was bored with the conversations.

"What?"

"Sakura was far too young to be considered for the position, even with her immense skill and potential, she wasn't on the council's list of candidates. I stepped up, and suggested her, I praised her and enriched the council with the great capabilities of Sakura Haruno."

Kiba just stared at his mother in utter shock. His palm was itching, and he felt ashamed. He couldn't help but to wonder if the shame was for himself, or his mother.

"Of course, it wasn't enough. Even the Hokage herself protested at first, because she was planning on assigning Sakura into the ANBU, which desperately needed a powerful medical shinobi. That is until Hiashi Hyuuga himself, stepped up, and agreed that Sakura Haruno would make more than adequate Head of the Medical Sector of Konoha."

"What? Why would Hiashi-san want that? Why would he even care?" Kiba asked, astounded by the things his mother was saying. He thought, along with everyone, that the Hokage persuaded the council alone, just to make sure her own apprentice got a grand, important but above all, a safe position in the village and the ninja world.

"The council made it clear, that the person qualifying for this position, needed to be independent, focused and fully devoted to this responsibilities. Hiashi, just like myself, realized that if Sakura Haruno attained this position and this title, she would no longer be able to just goof off with an heir to the Inuzuka clan." Tsume spoke, as she moved towards her son.

"Let me get this straight. One day, the head of Inuzuka clan and the head of Hyuuga clan decide to sit down for a cup of tea and then proceeded to ruin my _fucking relationship?!_" Kiba yelled, pushing his mother, who now stood close to him, away roughly, rejecting her both mentally and physically. His anger was blasting through his eardrums.

"We just needed an excuse for you two to end it. Both Hiashi and myself needed you two to break up, so his daughter and my son could finally fulfill their destiny, and mate, and get ready to lead the Inuzuka clan-"

"Are you listening to your yourself?" Kiba roared, his fist clenching, "Can you hear the words coming out of your mouth?"

"Kiba, listen to me, this was necessary-"

"No, you will listen to me." Kiba growled dangerously, as he took a step towards his mother, trapping her between the wall of the room, and his own broad form. "You have told me since the beginning, about the affairs of the council and the village, you have told me how manipulative, controlling and evil the elders are, how the clan are at their mercy, how no one has a choice, no one has the true freedom they deserve because of those fuckers in the council, and now look at you," Kiba paused, his eyes burning into his mother, "You are just like them, a cold, manipulative, bitch."

Tsume slapped him. She wanted to do a lot worse, but realized it would probably not help the situation.

"You will not talk to me like that!" Tsume screamed, her nose flaring, "I did you a favor, I made it easy for you to walk away from her!"

Kiba's cheek was stinging, but he didn't move a muscle, nor made a sound, just kept his gaze on his mother.

"I saw that you have fallen in love with her, at first I thought it was going to be just a short meaningless relationship, because that's all you ever had before, so it did not worry me even if you got with her less than a year away from the mating deadline, but as the months passed, and your scent changed, I could tell you were far more than just infatuated with her-"

"No, that's not-"

"Stop it Kiba, you know you can't fool." Tsume interrupted Kiba's protests. "I realized, that you perhaps forgot about your responsibilities, or maybe you didn't even really know about them, and I for sure knew that you would never break off your relationship, just because I would tell you to do so."

Tsume looked down, her face now softening, turning pink, and her breath finally slowing down. She whispered her next words.

"I could see how happy you were with her. It made my heart ache. I wanted to just tear the biding scroll apart, let you be with her, but I knew that was impossible." Tsume kept her head down, not meeting Kiba's heated gaze, "Then about 4 months ago, Hiashi approached me, displeased at your actions, demanding me to 'fix this problem'. You know what he wanted me to do, Kiba?" the older woman asked gently, with a sick smile, now finally looking into Kiba's eyes.

"He wanted me to get Sakura assassinated."

"_What?"_ The dog nin's eyes widened, the anger that has been building up in him, flared immensely, at the thought of the head of Hyuuga clan.

"Kiba, this marriage is far more important than it seems. It's not just about you mating your mate, and becoming the alpha. You know that Hinata is from the main branch, but she is not the next in line to lead the clan, she never was, it is Hanabi that will be the next Hyuuga clan leader, and Hiashi made it very clear, ever since Hanabi was born. Hinata was just five years old, and her future, had already no future."

As Tsume talked, Kiba just silently watched and couldn't help himself, but to feel sympathy towards the woman he wanted to kill just a minute ago.

"You always liked Hinata. You've spent a lot of time together when you were babies, and of course she was always so busy with her ridiculous training, but when you were together, you were so happy. Then one day you actually asked if 'Hinata-chan could be in our family.' You were so adorable, and innocent, and it sparked the idea of making her your bound. I then talked with Hiashi, and he was more than pleased with the idea. I mean really, he would have Hanabi lead the Hyuuga clan, and his older daughter be the head of the Inuzuka clan, it was perfect."

Tsume was actually smiling, reminiscing about the old days, but suddenly her face lost all that warmth and happiness.

"It was a little too late, when I realized what Hiashi's true intentions were. He viewed this as the perfect opportunity to see what would happen if the Byakugan combined with our techniques. I honestly now think that he just wants to create a new bloodline limit and build powerful soldiers out of your offspring. Create an alliance between our two clans."

There was a pregnant pause.

"I know it's not ideal, but I think there is a lot of potential in this arrangement. You already have a relationship with Hinata, she is strong, beautiful and there is a good chance you two will produce some outstanding offspring, but besides that I honestly think you will be happy."

Tsume studied her son's face. He was still angry, yes, but somehow she felt the anger had left its original target and moved on to the next.

"I don't know what to say, ma, I really don't" Kiba murmured in defeat, "I never had a future with Sakura, I get that now, but I just with you'd tell, so that I could at least kept our friendship."

"But that's the thing! I didn't want you to have to do that, I know it's difficult and it hurts, and I didn't want you to have to bear the respon-"

"Oh, but it was okay to dump it all on Sakura? I can't even image how trapped she must've felt. God, I feel so stupid for being angry with her! I doubt they even gave her a choice." Kiba screamed, throwing his hands in the air, "All this time, she was part of something, that had nothing to do with her, and she didn't even know shit. Now she's done for. Stuck at the hands of the council."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, she could have been dead. At least she has a good job, good title and respect throughout the entire country." Tsume rolled her eyes, finally feeling fed up with Kiba's outburst. She felt bad for him, but he was not the first Inuzuka that had to let go off love, to fulfill his duties and he won't be the last.

"Are you listening to yourself?" The dog nin asked in disbelief.

His mother stepped away.

"Are you done?" Tsume snapped back.

"I don't love Hinata." Kiba stated, as if it was the conclusion to this entire conversation.

"That has nothing to do with this. Love is temporary, it changes, and it grows but eventually fades away. Once you mate, it is for life, no one else will matter more to you, and nothing will change. Ever." The older woman spoke, her eyes closed, and her hand scratching her head. She was acting too casual, considering what she was telling Kiba.

"That sounds unhealthy." Kiba snickered dryly, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Look Kiba, this won't be easy, but I'll lay it for you straight. You have three weeks to mate with Hinata Hyuuga, or you will not only disrupt hundreds of years of tradition in the Inuzuka clan, but you will piss off the head of Hyuuga clan himself. So, think long and hard before you do anything stupid." Tsume snarled through her teeth. "And don't even think about making a scandal."

The brunette finished and swiftly turned around, heading towards the door. Kiba just watched her silently when suddenly a thought popped into his mind.

"Sakura said something about me having abnormally large levels of testosterone in my blood, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Kiba asked sourly, eyeing the back of his mother's head.

She turned around slowly, smirk plastered on her face, "Oh yes, that's all part of the game." She smiled evilly and with that left, and shutting the door behind her with a load bang.

The tanned man just sighed, and ran his hair thought his head.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

The morning air was chilly, but pleasantly refreshing. The sun had lazily made its way into the sky, and shone across the village. There were no birds today. It was quiet, too quiet and Naruto couldn't help but to wonder if someone made sure the birds stayed down this morning.

The blond frowned in thought, but continued to watch the horizon out of the window of his apartment, while slowly sipping on a cup of coffee. It was very early for Naruto to be up, but events of last night prevented his lids from closing, and his mind from entering into blissful slumber.

Sakura showed up at his rooftop, like she often did when something happened, but yesterday was different. She cried, no _sobbed_, while clutching to him, as if afraid to let go. _That_ was very unusual, indeed. Of course it wasn't long before she told him everything, starting from Tsunade's first mention of the position of Chief Medical Shinobi, and ending at the events of yesterday. Naruto's blood boiled at the thought of that story especially, because even thought Sakura was whimpering all while trying to talk, he understand every single word very well.

The shinobi's hand clutched the mug tighter. He felt confused, because on one hand Kiba was one of his best friends, a great man and a stand up shinobi, yet Sakura was quite honestly the love of his life, and along with Saskue, the _most_ valuable person to him in the world, so there was no way he was going to let this happen anymore.

"Speaking of Sasuke..." Naruto thought out loud, "I wonder what he would say to all of this."

When the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, after killing the remaining elders of the council, Sasuke was captured, even thought it had appeared that after fulfilling his goal, he has given up, as struggle was lacking during his capture. Nonetheless, after two years in prison awaiting a trial, and months and months of pleads and begs from both Naurto and Sakura, it was decided that Sasuke Uchiha was going to emit death and instead loose his bloodline limit, the Sharigan, effectively loosing his sight permanently. During the entire trial, it was only Naruto screaming in protest, and Sakura loudly yet diplomatically, demanding another punishment, all while Sasuke Uchiha sat there silently, with a sickly content smile on his face.

Now blind, Sasuke has been under a strict house arrest for the past four years, but once the entire village found new juicy gossip to quack about, the Uchiha scandal was buried, and the rules and limitations set by the arrest loosened. However, Sasuke Uchiha has lived the quiet life, alone in the Uchiha compound. He was no longer a functioning shinobi, but was allowed couple of visits a month to the academy where he would share some knowledge, teach a seal or two and of course answer heaps of questions coming from the over excited youngster who only heard the stories of the great betrayal of Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke has become a different person; he remained as calm and collected as ever, but somehow happier. He appeared more relax, more comfortable and moreover freer. Other than during his trips to the academy, he would rarely be seen anywhere else but the Uchiha compound, with the house arrest it was expected, but somehow, through the lack of protest or displeasure coming from the Uchiha, people tended to forget that he was in fact still under punishment.

Naruto and Sakura often visited, together. Naruto has made too many solo trips alone, at least once a week he would go see teme, and they would just talk, well Naruto would, and Sasuke would listen, because that's what he seemed to have learned to do, and enjoyed. Maybe it was because he could no longer see, so listening has become his second nature, but Naruto felt that somewhere, deep inside Sasuke was trying to make up for all the time he had lost with them two.

Naruto knew very well, that Sakura made these trips as well. No, not from Sasuke, he was never the one to kiss and tell, but he just knew. Sasuke holds Sakura dear to his heart, he did tell Naruto this. Sakura was the girl that foolishly gave him her heart, and told him she loved him in a way that he hasn't heard since the death of his parents. He never understood why, or how she could love someone like him, but he treasured it.

Sakura still considered her two boys, her…well two boys, and no one else could ever replace that. She loves Sasuke, Naruto knows very well that she does, but it is not the kind of love filled purely with admiration anymore, it has developed into something deeper, something the blond knows Sakura feels for him too, and that saddens him, because it is not the kind of love he wants from her.

Nevertheless, Naruto has always wondered about the things Sakura would talk to Sasuke about. Surely, some, where mutual, ones she shared with him too, but there must be other things, just like he has, that can only be told to the last remaining Uchiha.

"Sasuke would be pissed for sure." Naruto mumbled grumpily, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Why would Sasuke-kun be pissed for sure?"

Naruto turned his head at the direction where the feminine voice came from. He saw Sakura, standing at the door to his room, clad in nothing but his oversized orange tee-shirt. Her hair was messy, uncombed, her eyes red and puffy from her tears, and with large bags under her eyes, Naruto couldn't help but to think how absolutely stunning she looked.

"Sakura-chan, you up already?" The shinobi asked, concerned.

"Well yeah dummy, I have to be at the hospital in 30 minutes." Sakura mumbled, groaning. She moved into Naruto's kitchen, getting a carton of milk out of the fridge. Naruto just watched her frowning.

"What?" Sakura said, as she noticed Naruto's displeased face.

"You are over-working yourself and not getting enough sleep." Naruto said finally, still keeping his unhappy expression. Sakura just plastered a Sai-worthy fake smile on her face and laughed.

"Naruto, it's called response-"

"And you are heartbroken." Naruto murmured, catching Sakura off guard, he continued, "And extremely horny."

"What-" Sakura almost chocked on her milk, has she told him yesterday _everything? _Including the details about her unstable libido? No, she was sure to omit that, but maybe it slipped out?

"What are you talking about you pervert!" she screamed, throwing the carton at the blond, who caught it with a true grace of a shinobi, and moved towards his pink haired companion.

"Earlier this morning, when I picked you up, after you fell asleep in my arms on the roof, you started clutching to me, moaning and asking me to _touch_ you." Naruto said, staring at the carton, as he was now in front of Sakura, and couldn't really look at her. She just remained silent, mortified. "You were begging me, Sakura. Beginning me to do things I don't even want to say to your face, because you will punch me."

Sakura's face was burning; she knew she was tomato red by this point. She must've been having another one of those vivid, Kiba dreams, where he would take her body to heaven.

'Oh god.' Sakura thought, horrified, she dropped her head. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm really embarrassed." Sakura whispered.

"No, don't be sorry, I mean I didn't mind or anything." Naruto giggled. Sakura's head snapped back up, her face still red, but now anger. "You pervert!" Sakura started screaming, and punching Naruto on the chest, he swiftly caught her arms.

"Sa-ku-ra-chan." Naruto just murmured, seductively, "But are you sure you don't need any help to relieve the stress you are feeling?" the blond leaned down, to whispering the words into her ear.

Sakura shivered. Not because she was excited, this was Naruto for god's sake, but it was true that she was extremely sexually frustrated, and Naruto Uzumaki was one fine specimen, mind you. Inner Sakura shook in horror.

**'No.'**

"No thanks, I'm all good." Sakura uttered grumpily, removing her hands from his. "I better get going." She continued, trying to shake off any pleasure she felt during their encounter, as she made her towards the bathroom to get ready.

Naruto stared after her. So it was true. He did recall her mumble something about 'eternal horniness' as she put it, and he felt a slight level of repulsion when she mentioned that it was Kiba she yearned to have in bed. He knew he was crossing a line, asking questions like that, taking a risk, but surely the response was not normal. She had once knocked him out for two days for commenting on the color of the bra, which he had caught a glimpse of when she bent down. It was orange, something Naruto liked very much. Now he was here basically propositioning sex, and she just walks away? Is she really that hung up on Kiba, has he penetrated every single part of her, not literally of course, that she cannot accept anyone else, mentally or physically?

'God that Kiba sure fucked you up.' Naruto thought sourly, but then a thought stopped him; the thought of Kiba actually fucking his Sakura. The blond turned green, Kiba was never the modest type. Surely he never talked about his bedroom activities with Sakura in front of Naruto, but he has talked about other women and he often went indo details of how he fucked against the wall, doggy-style, titty-fucking, anal-

Naruto almost dropped his mug when he saw the pink haired woman emerge from the bathroom now fully dressed in her clothes from last night, if people didn't know them any better, they would all probably get the wrong idea when seeing Sakura leaving his apartment like this in the morning.

He whimpered. 'God, no my Sakura-chan…' remembering the things he just wondered about.

She looked past him, and quickly strode off towards the main door.

"Thanks for everything, Naruto. We'll talk later!" she called after him, heading out of the door.

"Well I'll see you tonight!" Naruto shouted after her, trying to catch her before she disappeared before him, again. She stopped momentarily, to look at her best friend.

"What's tonight?"

"It's Neji's birthday party! Don't you remember? Lee has been organizing it for weeks!" Naruto exclaimed happily, thinking of all the good fun Lee was sure to organize.

"But Neji's birthday is not for another two weeks." Sakura mumbled, she knew very well when Neji's birthday was. It was mere four days before Kiba's, and she, as his girlfriend, has actually been planning something special for his birthday. Those plans were long gone. She frowned; feeling upset again, and the day had barely started, great.

"Yeah, but Neji has a super important ANBU mission next week, so who knows when he'll get back." Naruto smiled, sensing Sakura sudden change in attitude, and somehow feeling responsible for her morose face.

"Umm…yeah, I remember now." Sakura lied, running a hand through her hair. She suddenly felt very guilty about forgetting. Lee _has_ been planning this for a while; to throw a grand 24th birthday party for his best friend, but Sakura had been so wrapped up with Kiba and her hospital duties that she had completely forgot.

"It's in that new bar, across from the barbeque restaurant," Naruto began, eyeing the uncomfortable looking kunoichi: "You know, Lee rented the whole place, and invited like everyone."

"Sounds great." Sakura smiled.

"So, you'll be there?"

"Yes." Sakura said evenly, staring into Naruto's concerned eyes.

"Kiba will be there." Naruto suddenly blurted out. Maybe he wanted her to decline the invitation, and just stay home, maybe he wanted to stay home with her, maybe he didn't want her to see Kiba, he wanted to scare her away, but out of all the people in the village, he should've known better.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

With that statement, she finally walked off.

'Oh boy.' Naruto groaned in his head and retreated back into his apartment.

* * *

"So…what are you gonna wear?" Ino spoke, her voice dragging out annoyingly, as she stretched over the counter, on which Sakura was preparing herself a cup of coffee. They were currently in the staff room, of the hospital, somehow Sakura managed to arrive early, so she took the opportunity to grab a small breakfast, which she had neglected in Naruto's apartment.

"I don't know Ino, you tell me." Sakura replied, bored. She really didn't want to talk about the damn party.

"You know, it's getting really old," Ino frowned and threw her hands up in the air, "Me having to dress you every time something big comes up!"

"Don't lie, you love it." Sakura smirked, stirring her freshly made coffee.

"You know me so well." Ino mumbled in defeat, smiling. She followed her best friend over to a near table, and sat down, resting her chin in her palm.

"So then, what do you _want_ to wear?" The blond snickered; Sakura just remained quiet, sipping on her coffee. Getting fed up, Ino began playfully, "I bet you want something tight, short and uber slutty, right?"

Sakura almost choked on her coffee. "What!?"

"Don't play dumb, I know you want to look hot in front of Kiba, want to make him regret breaking up with you."

Not even Ino knew the truth behind their breakup, no one idea. Sakura told everyone that it just didn't work out, and Ino just assumed it was Kiba who dumped her ass.

"No…that's not at al-"

"Well, you are in luck, 'cause I got the perfect dress for you. It's deep red. I know how much Kiba loves that color on you." Ino looked smugly at Sakura.

"Ino! I'm not going to the party to parade myself in front of Kiba, I'm going to celebrate a birthday of one of our good friends."

"And make Kiba uber jealous, got it!" Ino exclaimed with triumph, ignoring Sakura's protests.

"Why do I even bother?" Sakura sighed, checking the watch on her wrist, "Shoot, I got to go, I have a meeting." She proclaimed, jumping out of her chair.

"Okayyyyyy! I'll be at your house at 6, and we'll get ready together!" The blond screamed after Sakura, as she dashed off. The chief medical shinobi could only wonder, what her blond friend wanted to do to her for 4 hours.

* * *

"Hey asshole!"

Kiba turned around, only to catch a glimpse of blond hair, before a fist met his face and stars appeared in front of his eyes.

Kiba, woke up early this morning, again. The things that he found out yesterday plagued his mind all night, prohibiting any form of rest during the night. With the early hour, there wasn't much for Kiba to do. He hasn't been on a mission for weeks, which not only made him, but also Akamaru very nervous. The dog would barely hang around him anymore, and Kiba couldn't help but to wonder if it has something to do with his raging hormones and unstable libido.

Anyway, the only thing he has preoccupied himself with was training, but that had proven to be difficult without his canine, and besides it was out of question at the moment. There were so many things running through his head, that his concentration was reduced to nil. There was no way he could train without injuring himself again, and it's not like he could just walk into the hospital anytime soon.

So he decided to face the reality, and visit the Hyuuga compound. He knew the whole family would already be awake; the Hyuugas had the tendency to train like freaks too early in the morning for any other normal human being. He just wanted to go see Hinata, talk to her. Fuck, just see if she even _knew_ what was going on, and what was expected of them. He needed to start somewhere, and plus he wanted to talk to her in private, before this grand party tonight.

So here he was, on the road, nearing to the Hyuuga estate, when he heard someone shout after him, and then before he knew it he was pounded to the ground.

Kiba wasted no time getting back up to his feet. He crouched to dodge another punched aimed at him, and in his new position, swung his leg swiftly to knock his opponent down. The man was quickly flipped around and landed on his feet, but at least this gave Kiba the opportunity to level with his attacker, and gaze at his face.

"Naruto?!" Kiba yelled surprised, "What the fuck are you doing?"

Naruto fumed, and growled and soon held Kiba by the collar of his shirt, faces inches apart from each other.

"No one fucks around with my Sakura-chan and gets away with it."

Kiba's eyes widened. The air around Naruto was different; he could feel the strong pressure of the blonde's chakra that was evidently infused with the Kyuubi's chakra. Fuck, he was pissed, that could only mean one thing that Sakura told him. Everything.

"Naruto, listen. You don't know the whole story-"

"What are you saying? That Sakura lied to me? She lied when she told me you treated her like shit after she made the toughest decision of her life to let you go? She chose to devote her life to saving people and you spit on her for that? You play with her? You call her a worthless shinobi?" Naruto was screaming, and the usual warmth that was Naruto's trademark, was defiantly not there.

"Sakura doesn't know everything!" Kiba tried to reason with the blonde, but it seemed that his friend was long gone.

"Don't fuck with me, I know everything I _need _to know. It turns out that you are just a piece of shit, that's all. You are the worthless shinobi, and a man whore!"

"Watch it, Uzumaki!" Kiba snapped, freeing himself from Naruto's grasp. Even the tanned man could not tolerate so much.

"Don't tell me what to do, I came here to beat the shit out of you!" Naruto snarled at his friend.

"Well that's too fucking bad, I have somewhere to be." Kiba spoke, trying to maintain stability and power in his voice.

"Yeah? Where? Going to wish happy birthday to Neji-kun, I presume?" Naruto asked mockingly, still beyond furious. Just the sight of the careless, arrogant dog nin made Naruto's blood boil.

"No, dumbass, I'm actually going to see my teammate, Hinata, not that it's any of your bu-"

"Oh what? Are you fucking her now too?" Naruto roared, something snapping within him.

"Not yet." Kiba remarked, smirking smugly, as he couldn't help himself but to say it, knowing it would set the blond off. Suddenly he was receiving another punch in the face from the other man who soon followed by a tackle to the ground.


	6. The Fireworks

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. _**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 6: The Fireworks**

* * *

Sakura strolled through the halls of the hospital, her heels clicking with every step. The kunoichi has just left from an most uncomfortable meeting. There she was, in her cramped office, along with _twelve_ other staff members discussing the recent budget cuts. It was more than fitting, considering they were discussing the financial drops of the hospital, but really, they could have held the meeting outside for god's sake.

Nevertheless, Sakura was more than preoccupied with her own thoughts to really pay attention to the long and overworked speeches by her numerous subordinates, but then that asshole from research and development mentioned Kirume.

_"I don't think letting people go will be a big problem, I mean I don't think that nurse that got attacked by that unruly shinobi yesterday, will be wanting to come back to work any time soon."_

There was laughter. Yes, people found it funny. Surely, Kirume's condition was stabilized, and now it was only matter of time until she woke up, but Sakura found anything laughing about the fact that the poor girl almost died. But hey, who was she to say anything?

Wait a minute, she was the _fucking_ Chief, and she had every right to say anything. So she did, she yelled all those good-for-nothing employees out, until she was left alone in her office, dreading her very own existence. She really had been reduced to nothing.

Maybe Kiba was right, maybe she was undeserving, unworthy and pathetic. No longer a legitimate shinobi, reduced to just a face that represented all of those ignorant people in the hospital.

Sakura sighed, her mind spinning in mindless circles trying to find a flaw in Kiba's accusations but at the same time trying to not think of him. Their last encounter, besides being absolutely upsetting, was also tremendously exciting. He had touched again, well, more than touched, they basically dry humped each other, but that was beside the point. The fact was, she got off more by those mere three minutes of heavy groping with Kiba, than she did in the past three months during entire nights with other men and her own fingers. This was rather frustrating.

The kunoichi pushed the thoughts aside, as she neared her destination, room 206, room where Kirume was recovering. The pink haired woman needed to see her, maybe as a form of reassurance, she wasn't quite sure; she just knew she had to visit her.

"Eh, forehead!"

The high-pitched voice, made Sakura cringe, before she turned around to face her friend, who was yelling after her.

"Ino, what is it? I'm busy right now." Sakura grumped.

"Yeah, so is the entire East wing!" Ino exclaimed in defeat, moving towards her pink haired friend, "That Inuzuka guy you saved yesterday has finally woken up and is causing a hell of a commotion. We can't exactly knock him out either, he already has shit loads of morphine in him, and god knows what else but you know these dog ninjas, they eat the drugs up like candy. Come, please." Ino whined, her big blue eyes staring into Sakura's pleading.

"Stupid, stupid Inuzukas." Sakura mumbled, rolling her eyes, but nevertheless followed Ino down the hall.

* * *

"Enough!"

Sakura's strong voice roared down the hall, as she herself has just stepped into the said patient's room, spotting the animated fight between the noisy Inuzuka, still bandaged up completely head to toe and couple of shrieking nurses. The defeated women froze, at the sound of Sakura's scream, but Teiru did not, he only took the opportunity of the distracted nurses to hop of the bed. As he landed on the floor however, something cracked and his body came tumbling down on the floor with a loud thud.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, clutching his ankle, and wailing in pain.

"Everyone, out!" Sakura snapped loudly, "I need to have a talk with Teiru."

The nurses scattered out of the room quickly, and shut the door robustly.

"I don't think I have to explain to you, that you have probably reopened your fractures." The medical chief said dryly, as she moved towards the man on the floor, "And I'm not going to heal them, because you obviously want to stay disabled for the rest for your life."

As she came a mere couple of inches from the Inuzuka, his body stiffened, and he raised his head carefully. Boy, he was really afraid of her wasn't it?

"You won't be able to continue as a shinobi, if you don't heal properly, so please Teiru, let us do our job and get your ass back into your bed." She attempted to aid him getting back into the hospital bed, but before she could make her move, he briskly jumped up, clutching to the bed for support and stood, feet shaking but planted sternly on the ground.

"Or not…." Sakura mumbled, crossing her arms. The boy was shaking, abnormally. She could see the sweat forming on his brown, and his dark brown eyes, shining big, like those of a puppy. He looked very much like Kiba, Sakura noted. The tan skin, the chestnut-brown hair and the raw roughness were things that the pink haired kunoichi only associated with her ex-boyfriend, but could clearly see them in his younger cousin.

Suddenly a very naughty thought popped up in her mind, but she suppressed it. Just because they looked alike, did not mean they possessed the same… _skills_.

"Teiru, get back to bed." She repeated, but the boy did not move a muscle, instead she noticed his cheeks puffing up, and mouth growing tense. Was he…holding his breath?

"Teiru? Are you okay?" she asked now genuinely concerned, stepping closer towards her patient.

"I'm fine." He stated boldly, "So please let me go!"

Sakura gritted her teeth.

"You are obviously not, look at how you are shaking, like a lost puppy! Get your ass back to bed. Now."

Sakura waited, but the brunette didn't move a muscle. She was sure if it was because was defying her or because he simply wasn't capable of even doing that. Noticing his clenching jaw, she decided it was the second thing.

"Look, Sakura-san. It's just your scent… it's very overwhelming. I'm fine otherwise." The brunette mumbled brining his hand up to his mouth, clearly indicating his discomfort at her smell.

"_Excuse me_?" Sakura cringed. Was he insinuating that she smelt bad? She took a shower just couple of hours ago for god's sakes!

"No! Don't get offended; it's not your scent. It's Kiba's."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"He has marked your scent, with his, sort of territorial act I suppose, and since he is in heat, it is exceptionally strong-"

"Come again?" Sakura roared fed up with this talk linking her to Kiba, suggesting he had marked her and that she smelled of him? Why couldn't she just shake that boy off?

"S-sakura-san…I'm just…I just smell him on you…" Teiru trailed off, if he had a tail it would be down in shame, "M-maybe I'm wrong. It is too strange, it doesn't make sense…" His voice suddenly changed, no longer scared, just curious, and excited, "You guys broke up, so it can't be you, but then why would he leave a mark so strong…?"

"Teiru."

There was an awkward silence. Sakura just stared at the dazed boy who had appeared to forget that she still in the room, and has drowned himself in his own thoughts.

"Teiru!" She urged on a little louder, and this seemed to have snapped the younger Inuzuka out of his thinking phase.

"Sakura-san." He replied, out of instinct. The older woman just sighed, feeling her anger fade, at the sight of his innocent face. When has that expression left her? And more importantly, why can't Kiba ever make a face like this? His are always cocky and arrogant.

**'And Sexy.'**

'Oh, shut up!' Sakura mentally scolded herself.

"Teiru, what are you talking about? Kiba in heat? My scent? A mark?"

"Why, Sakura-san I'm sure you know this, or at least you must have noticed it." Teiru said, eyeing Sakura's reaction. Sensing that she was not following he continued, "Kiba's strange behavior, that aggression, that lack of self-control and those mood swings, it's all because of _that_."

"His abnormal hormones levels! Yes, I know! I've detected them, and they explain why he has acted so strange, and animal-like and…" Sakura trailed off, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction of finally coming to an explanation. But wait…

"I still don't get it, what mark are you talking about?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Teiru asked, genuinely surprised. "But it doesn't make sense…I thought it was you."

"What do you mean? You thought I was who?"

"I thought you were his blood bound, his mate to be. Frankly everyone did…and you have his mark on you, and the time is ticking…but it's not you. It can't be, it doesn't work. Then who is it? Could it-"

"Teiru please? You are not making any sense. Just tell me what is happening with Kiba. What the hell is a blood bound?" The pink haired woman fumed, irritation creeping up her face again, a face that was getting suddenly very hot. Teiru was talking about a mate, Kiba's mate and Sakura got suddenly very excited about this idea. She always wondered if because of his dog like existence, he saw her as his mate, but then again mates are eternal, aren't they? Their relationship surely wasn't eternal.

"Every Inuzuka head, or the head to be has a mate, or as you call it a...a…a person? Yeah, person I suppose…umm… and this person is bounded to them at a very young age, like at the age of 1 or 3 or you know? Very, _very _young." Teiru exaggerated his last words with a strange face, as if he was mocking the very ideas he spoke of. Sakura just remained silent, listening intently.

"So anyway, this person becomes the Inuzuka's blood bound. Now the alpha, the head to be has until the age of 23 to mate with his blood bound. In a sense during the last year before the age of 23, the Inuzuka remains in 'heat' I guess that's you call it, The thing is, he has to find his blood bound by himself, and that shouldn't be hard since he is in this heat and he has that natural craving for his mate. As closer he gets to 23 without mating he becomes more and more frustrated, and aggressive and his hormone levels rise and rise you know? Cause that's how it works with wolf, and dogs, they emit high levels of hormones that signal to the female that they are ready. Pretty cool huh?" Teiru actually smiled impishly. Sakura just cringed. That was fucking weird.

"And anyway…this is…I believe a way of I guess proving your maturity or your preparedness I suppose, and basically…I believe that the idea is that during the year after turning 23, the said Inuzuka leader to be, in this case Kiba, has the time to really create this bond with his mate, and to become one you know…. linked in harmony and all that crap…" Teiru rolled his eyes again, and creating quotation marks with his fingers, sarcastically. Sakura just stared, jaw down and eyes wide.

"And bam! At 24 Kiba is ready, with his mate, prepared to lead the clan." Teiru concluded, finally an honest smile appearing on his face. He was evident happy with the idea of Kiba being his leader. Surprising.

"That's ridiculous!" Sakura broke, absolutely horrified by these rules, "So Kiba has no choice in who is marries, spends the rest of the life with this person and has to be the leader of an entire clan at just the age of 24?"

"What do you mean _just_? In our world reaching 24 is sometimes a very big success, Sakura-san don't forget that people die at tender age, you know, some don't even reach adulthood, and die as children in place meant for adults."

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Do not compare the death of children to a marriage ritual of some _prestigious _clan. There is no comparison." Sakura spoke dryly. She was sick and tired of these clan members thinking their way was above anything else.

"No, I'm not. I'm just trying to put it into a perspective for you." Teiru whimpered back, sensing her changing demeanor, and perhaps again reacting to what was apparently a strong scent.

"So…back to Kiba." Sakura started, trying to not sound desperate. "Blood bound? Mate?"

"Yeah…" Teiru raised his eyebrows.

"Well? Who is it?" Sakura spat out, growing tired of his ignorance.

"Oh! I don't know." Teiru retorted, "I mean, I thought it was you 'cause you know of the scent, and the whole history you guys have together, and how totally_ obsessed_ Kiba is with you…but it doesn't work, I'm sorry Sakura. I believe it's someone else, it can't be you."

Sakura stiffened. She wasn't sure if it was because Teiru said Kiba was obsessed with her or because he just told her Kiba had a complete planned future with another woman. Either way, both reasons made her want to curl up, and cry in a corner.

"So you are saying, Kiba is going to marry in three weeks?"

"Umm no. Marriage is something we do eventually, and we only do it because it's what the village acknowledges as a bond, for them the term _mate_ is not enough. But just like for the village, mating is not legitimate, for us marriage isn't." Teiru's brows furrowed in concentration, "You see marriage is based on love apparently, and I don't really understand that because love is so temporary you know? People fall in and out of love all the time, so how can you base your entire future on that? I mean isn't there enough instability already with us being ninjas and everything?"

The brunette locked his eyes with Sakura, challenging her. She didn't know the answer. Ever since she remembered, she thought of love as the ultimate virtue in life, the purpose and reason for living.

'But all it ever does is cause pain.' Sakura thought, her heart contracting painfully, whilst thinking of her own teammates, and of course the dog nin,

"That's why having a mate is so beautiful Sakura-san. It's forever." Teiru's eyes sparkled, and his mouth turned into a wide grin. His face held so much genuine rapture. "Once you mate, no one else matters. Even if you don't love the person, after mating them, they will become the most important thing in your life. Your mate is not just your lover, your spouse, your family, your best friend…they are everything. They become a part of you." He smiled and closed his eyes, "That's why I'm not worried for Kiba, he will be happy and he will finally feel complete. I'm actually a little jealous to be honest."

Sakura closed her mouth.

She could hear the sound of feet tapping from the floor above and the chatter of numerous nurses outside of the room. A fly just landed on the lamp on Teiru's nightstand, and someone coughed in the next room.

Her eyes watered, but she pushed the tears away.

"Who is it?" she whispered, not meeting Teiru curios gaze.

"I told you Sakura-san, I don't know."

She nodded absent-mindedly. "Get back to bed, please." And with that she strode off, shutting the door quietly, and with a simple click, locking it.

The brunette started sourly at the door, feeling irritated for being locked in but at the same time with an uneasy feeling in the stomach. Did he just say something he wasn't supposed to?

"Oh well." He sighed, and threw himself on the bed. Folding his arms behind his head, he stared at the ceiling, wondering about his own future mate.

* * *

"You fight like a pussy." Naruto groaned, clutching his ribs in pain, sprawled out on the ground.

"Ironic, blondie." Kiba shot back equally damaged, lying next to Naruto. Watching the clouds and feeling blood trickling down his face, he wasn't sure if it was because of the burning pain on his forehead or from his throbbing nose. "That's all you got dumbass?" he panted, turning his head to look at his friend.

Naruto met his gaze, his eyes narrowed. "I don't think it's a fair fight. Without Akamaru by your side, you really are crap."

Naruto said that, but on the inside he did not believe it. It was common knowledge that the Inuzukas fought at their best with their canines by their side, and it was also known that Kiba was much slower, weaker and less coördinated without Akamaru, yet Naruto noticed drastic changes in Kiba's abilities, which did not seem at all weakened even without his companion by his side. It was very odd.

"Bastard."

"Asshole."

There was a pregnant pause.

Naruto returned his gaze to the sky, watching the cloud mindlessly.

"I always hated you, you know? I hated you for stealing Sakura-chan away from me."

Kiba's eyes softened, and he too turned to look up at the sky again.

"I always hated you for being so close to her, closer than I knew I ever could become."

"That's not true." Naruto mumbled, and then coughed catching his breath at the sudden lack of oxygen. Damn, that retard really broke his rib didn't he?

"You replaced me a long time ago."

"Don't be stupid Naruto, Sakura and I dated for 6 months, that is nothing compared to the fact that you guys have been best friend for 10 years." Kiba grunted, running his hand through his hair.

"True, but it only took you those 6 months for her to fall in love with you, while I've been at it for 10 years and look where that has gotten me." The blonde retorted back, closing his eyes, "You don't deserve her."

"Sakura was in love with me?"

Naruto opened his eyes, and carefully propped himself on his elbows. He looked over at Kiba, meeting his empty gaze. Naruto just sighed.

"I am afraid she still is."

The brunette just stared back, wide-eyed. The breeze ruffled his unruly hair, and his gaze dropped, focusing on the specks of dirt being crushed by Naruto's body. He studied every detail of that damn ground. Not sure whether to scream from ecstasy, victory or irritation, Kiba just laughed.

"Fuck me."

Suddenly there was a fist connecting with the brunette's face, and next thing he knew he was tumbling away from the blonde and landing face first on the ground.

Beaten, bloody and baffled he jumped up to his feet.

"What the fuck, Uzumaki!"

"I'm going to kill you, Inuzuka." Naruto screamed back, also getting up to his feet, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in his ribs.

"What kind of a coward are you, attacking when your opponent is not even looking!"

"A ninja, dumbass!" The blonde exclaimed, as he dashed at Kiba, he jumped into the air, forming a hand sealed; he created two clones, each aiming at Kiba from different sides.

The dog nin, dropped down to all four, and growled at the incoming opponents, analyzing the situation he noted the time in between each of the Naruto's attacks, and realized that the one of the left was going to get to him first. He swiftly turned to the left, punching the clone into his face, it was gone instantly, in fraction of a second he was in the air, effectively dodging the second's clone's attack that was aimed to knock him off of his feet. With the Naruto clone right below him, he focused chakra to his feet, and smashed the blonde's head into the ground, breaking the stone and making the clone disappear. He quickly swung his fist around, to finally meet the real Naruto's own fist, and both men froze.

"Stop it, Naruto! This isn't going to solve anything!" Kiba yelled at his friend, who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation, he was just making things more difficult.

"How can you laugh at her for loving you, you dumb fuck?!" Naruto spat into his face, the blue in his eyes catching a tint of red. He applied chakra to his fist, pushing Kiba's entire body forward.

"I'm not laughing at her you fucking dumbass, I'm laughing at myself!" Kiba shouted back, matching Naruto's new applied strength, and stopping him from pushing him forward. "You don't know shit, so stop interfering in my problems!"

"These aren't just your problems, they are also Sakura's problems, and therefore they are mine too!"

"You are so fucking delusional!" The brunette, roared, anger eating him up inside; "Get the fuck out of my face before I smash it to pieces!"

"What?! You're just lucky that my injuries have disoriented me, otherwise your face would have already been smashed!."

"No, you are lucky that I'm not really serious about fighting you!"

"What, you fucking-"

"Naruto-san, Kiba-san, what are you doing at the Hyuuga property?!"

Both men stopped glaring at each other and looked up to see the source of the angry voice. Kiba spotted Hoheto running down the path from the compound, to where they were having their little quarrel. The Hyuuga shinobi, looked very displeased.

"Hoheto-san." Kiba nodded at the arriving ninja. Hoheto was one the most dedicated members of the Hyuuga clan, and a well acknowledged ninja amongst other clans. He finally reached the two men, and narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"What are you doing here?" he asked both of them, but it seemed as if his hostile tone was solely directed at the blonde.

"I was on my way to visit Hinata, when this idiot here attacked me." Kiba growled, not moving a muscle and keeping his fist strongly planted against Naruto's. Naruto just growled at him.

"Well, Hinata-san is not here at the moment, she is running some errands, I believe in preparation for Neji-san's birthday celebration. " Hoheto spoke calmly, "So may I please ask that you leave, and stop disrupting this area."

Kiba narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga member. Rather unfriendly, all things considered. Surely he must been aware of the soon to be established Hyuuga-Inuzuka alliance. He should not be that rude.

"Of course, thank you." Kiba replied sourly, "We will leave at once."

Hoheto nodded, and dashed off, back towards the main house.

'How odd.' Kiba thought watching the Hyuuga ran off. He suddenly felt the lessened pressured on his fist, and looked up to note that the blonde had removed his fist, and had proceeded to just stare at the dog nin.

"This isn't over, dog."

"Right." Kiba uttered, quietly.

"I'll see you at the party then, asshole." With that Naruto disappeared in puff of white smoke. Leaving Kiba completely disoriented and confused.

"Party?" Kiba asked himself. Oh that's right, 'Neji-san's birthday celebration'.

'How fucking great,' the shinobi thought amused, 'Naruto will be there, Neji will be there, Hinata will be there, Sakura will be there…This is bound to be just a great night.'

* * *

The beat of the music filled the entire place, and the only sounds that could be heard above the loud music, were multiple chatters, screams and people singing along. There were hundred guests at least, maybe two hundred, Sakura wasn't sure, but she barely knew half of them. It might have been due to the dark, flashing lights, or the outrageous outfits some people were sporting, but she felt lost, and frankly confused.

This hip, over the top, party was Neji's birthday celebration? _If_ she was at the right place, then she was almost positive that Hyuuga prodigy did not agree to any of this, nor did he most likely have the slightest idea that it would be the way it was. There was no doubt that this indeed was the event that Lee spent two months planning, so Sakura supposed she should not be that surprised.

It was amazing, really. The space was a spacious, open and modern. It was a new club that just opened on the outskirts of Kohona, and the owners were some immigrants from a foreign country, that brought a lot of new ideas into the village. There was a giant bar on the left side of the club, and from what Sakura could deduce it was an open bar, serving a variety of alcoholic drinks, local and foreign.

Not good. The moment Sakura entered, and spotted the bar, she knew she was going to regret even showing up. Some say it is a habit she picked up from her master, but Sakura Haruno had become a quite a drinker, and a heavy one for that. Both that she was the Slug's princess prodigy and that she had incredible medical ninja metabolism allowing her to burn alcohol three times faster than any grown man, probably contributed to the fact that she could go on drinking for hours, lose herself, go wild and not feel a thing, but sometimes, eventually fall into temporary coma. That happened, many times before. And boy did Sakura enjoy drinking, especially when she was stressed, upset or angry, which happened a lot in the past months.

Besides the beverage temptations, Sakura was amazed at the whole feel of the place. The music pounding her ear drums was unknown to her, a mix of heavy beats that made you want to just dance all night and low, sexy tunes that were bringing people closer, and Sakura could see multiple couples grinding on the floor. There was a DJ of course, in a booth creating this atmosphere, and having people raise their hands and yell out random phrases, while otherwise screaming across the music and enjoying themselves.

The pink haired woman would never realize this was meant to be a birthday party, if she had not spotted the snack bar on the other side of the room, where a huge, exaggerated birthday cake towered above all the other delicacies. It was chocolate, sprinkled with coconut.

'Cute.' Sakura thought sarcastically. Lee probably just wanted to make sure that there was at least something slightly traditional about this birthday party.

"Fuck, Sakura this is sick! Who knew Lee could throw such a party?!" Sakura's blonde friend yelled into her ear, but due to the loud music Sakura barely registered what she said. Ino just flipped her blonde hair back, and let her sea blue eyes wander around the room, no doubt searching for a possible dancing partner. The girl was on a mission, as she told Sakura earlier, causing Sakura to roll her eyes of course, a mission to find a good hookup.

Sakura noted Ino had made effort to look her best. She had let her hair down, which was very unusual for the blonde, and curled the ends of her long, silky locks to create a beautiful but effortless volume. She had gone for the classic look, sporting a black cat-eye and red lips Her dress was fabulous of course, a tight but structured strapless, little black dress, with a corset like top, and the midsection being made of some sort of black mesh, showing of her toned belly. She also opted for a pair of sky-high red pumps.

"I'm just wondering how he got Neji to agree to this!" Sakura yelled back, leaning closer to her blonde friend, to be heard above the music. Ino turned to look at her best friend, and smirked.

"What?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at her friend's odd gaze.

"Sakura, you look hot."

Sakura, after a long fight with Ino, had been persuaded to indeed wear that sinful deep red dress. It was very tight, snug around her little frame like a second skin. It was also very short, the hemline just few inches below her butt, and had a deep cut neckline that showed off plenty of cleavage, and due to the dress's tightness, her cleavage did look bustier than ever. The dress did have however three-quarter length sleeves, which Sakura thought made it much more tasteful, but then she realized it also had to giant cut outs on either side of her mid drift, showing off plenty of skin.

She decided to join her best friend and also wore a pair of very similar pumps to Ino's, except hers in a nude color to match her equally more neutral makeup. She had also curled her hair into soft pink curls that framed her face and bounced gently with every move.

Maybe she did it to provoke Kiba, or maybe she just did it for herself, to feel sexy and confident for once in her life. Okay that was a lie, because around Kiba always felt sexy, he made her feel sexy. The way he would look at her, the way he would touch her, the way he would act around her. Sakura shivered just at the thought of him. Maybe her intentions had to do something with capturing his attention, but she was honestly more worried about his suddenly decided future with some unknown woman.

Her breath hitched at the pure thought of it. She realized she couldn't go through it, she mentally could not imagine Kiba spending his life with another woman, while she walked away from him.

The pin haired woman decided she had to do something about it, she just didn't know what exactly.

"Sakura! Snap out of it!" Ino screamed, clicking her fingers in front of the dazed woman, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Come on, let's go find the birthday boy, before you get totally wasted and start making lesbian moves at me." Ino winked at her, grabbing her friend's hands and leading her away from the exist, into the crowded and wild dance floor.

Sakura let herself be dragged like a rag doll, her mouth still wide open from Ino's earlier remark.

"I-what? When did I eve-"

"The comments start after shot number 22, and the touching begins around number 30." Ino shouted back, smirking. She glanced over her shoulder, she made sure to keep Sakura close to her body, otherwise the pink haired woman would get lost in the sea of dancing bodies.

Sakura's face reddened. She definitely did not remember ever doing _that_. It was true she found Ino attractive, very, very attractive, I mean who wouldn't? Ino was damn sexy, probably the finest female in Kohona, but she was also her best friend, and a girl for that matter, and Sakura was fairly sure she did not swing that way.

Sensing Sakura's change in demeanor, Ino stopped, slap-bang in middle of the dance floor, and turned around. Sakura stopped also and stared at her blonde friend, who had an evil glint in her eyes.

"What?" Sakura asked innocently.

Then Ino moved closer, right up against the pink haired woman, their chests pressing against each other. She brought one hand around her waist, bringing Sakura's body even closer to her own and the other crept up her cheek to hold her in place.

"Ino…?" Sakura asked, emerald meeting blue.

Ino just smiled at her, and brought her mouth to Sakura's, their lips touching. Sakura could feel Ino's hot breath on her lips, she could feel her feminine fingers clutching her around her waist, and her other hand softly stroking her face lovingly. It all surprisingly excited her.

"I know how you can make Kiba _uber_ jealous." Ino whispered, but due to their close proximity Sakura heard every word clearly.

"Ino…" Sakura whined in displeasure. She was not in the mood to be teased, especially not about her lesbian tendencies. Surely she had them, every female did, but her mind was set on a single person right now, and he was very much male. Plus she knew if she provoked Kiba by getting it on with a girl, he would not feel hurt, rather he would most likely try to join them.

Suddenly Ino opened her mouth and grazed her tongue across Sakura's pouting lips. Sakura gasped as the sudden contact, and almost jerked back at the feel of her best friend's tongue against her lips. The sensation was strange but somewhat erotic.

Her blonde friend pulled back, but did not let Sakura go, they were still pressed up snugly against each other, when she spoke.

"My, my Sakura, don't tell me you actually enjoyed that." She said mockingly, watching her best friend shiver, and the blush creep across her cheeks.

"Ino, stop!" Sakura blurted, opening her eyes, not remembering when she closed them.

"Well, don't get too excited, first we need to find Neji, then get those 30 shots in and we are ready to rumble!" Ino exclaimed, as she freed herself from Sakura's warm embrace, grabbing her hand, she once again lead her into the sea of moving bodies

Her pink haired friend just rolled her eyes, this was going to be a very interesting night. Nevertheless followed mindlessly, not sure what to make of that little encounter, but realizing that it caused her jutsu to wear off, and she once again started feeling very hot, and frankly horny. She decided, she most certainly could not drink the promised 30 shots, she was on a mission, and even without the alcohol she was starting to feel light-headed.

* * *

"You cannot have a team consisting of solely sensory type ninjas." Chouji exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically, and effectively spilling some of his drink, "What will you do when get ambushed. You need offense. And when you get injured? You need medics!"

"That's the thing however, with a purely sensory type ninja team, you wouldn't get ambushed, you would be the one ambushing." Shine replied, more calmly, but his irritation growing evident in his voice.

The group was situated around the bar. Chouji, Shino and Shikamaru got quickly tired by the loud music and sea of people, and decided to hit up the bar straight away. Shikamaru's freshly broken leg was still healing, so he had not much intention of doing anything besides sitting at the bar tonight, besides he noted that getting drunk would make this party far less troublesome. However, as the alcohol intake grew, and the conversation material thinned, Shikamaru, lazily sipping on sake, found himself staring into oblivion.

"Oh yeah? And how would you exactly do that?" Chouji slurred, annoyed.

"Uhhh…ninja." Shino smirked, finger-pointing at himself.

"Oh, puh-lease! You wouldn't even hurt a fly," Chouji smirked, "literally."

"Oh yeah? How come I am in the ANBU then?" Shino challenged his friend.

"I don't know, I don't know shit about the ANBU!"

"Then you don't know shit about me!"

"I thought we were best friends!"

"We are!"

"Oh, god I'm so sorry Shino! I love you man!"

"I love you too."

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes, watching his friends engage themselves in a very awkward hug, He was two more cups of sake away from banging his head against this table. The music, the people, the alcohol, the atmosphere…this wasn't him.

"And where the fuck is everyone else?" Shikamaru murmured to himself. After arriving, they have greeted Neji briefly, and wished him the usual 'happy birthday' before Lee dragged him off somewhere to meet some girls. Ever since then, they have been stuck at the bar, and have not met any other of their close friends.

He sighed again. The loud, pounding music was just too much.

"Ah, ladies!"

Shikamaru, turned to indeed see two familiar women approaching, and he suddenly felt very relieved.

"Oi, Chouji, how are you guys?" Ino chirped happily, coming to Chouji for a quick hug.

"Greeaaaat." Chouji smiled, his eyes loosing focus, and mouth turning up into a ridiculous grin. Ino just smiled back awkwardly, understanding the situation. "Okay, I see." She replied, softly patting her friend's head, but she suddenly turned her head to look at Sakura.

"We are so behind, Sakura, get drinking!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes, and moved to greet Shikamaru, who was the only one out of the three that still seemed intact.

"You alright, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked gently, putting her hand on the man's shoulder.

Shikamaru smiled, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem a little down, that's all."

"Can you honestly say, this is a place for me." Shikamaru smirked, noting Sakura's appearance, which was indeed very different from the usual.

"No, but come one, sake is still sake right? No matter where you drink it." The woman smiled, rubbing Shikamaru's shoulder affectionately. The two of them always understood each other, and over the past few years especially, after having worked on numerous research and development project within and outside of the village, they have grown pretty close.

"Huh, and I guess you are here to gain closure?" The brown-haired man asked slowly.

"What?"

Shikamaru just motioned to her outfit. Sakura felt herself blush just a bit. Did she really look that out there? No, she looked fine. Plus he was wrong, she wasn't here to get closure, she already had closure, she just needed Kiba's attention so she could clear his mind. Yes, that made sense.

"Shikamaru please, the only thing I came here to gain, is more damage to my liver."

"Classy."

Sakura smiled, and flopped herself down next to the lazy man. She waved her hand at the waiter, "Whatever he is having, please."

"And I'll have the same."

Sakura snapped her head at the sound of _his_ voice. There he was, leaning against bar, next to her, smirking, in all his glory. He was wearing simple black pants, and a blue button up shirt, which he had left pretty upon, showing off the top of his chiseled chest. His hair was messy as usual, and he frankly looked positively delicious.

"Kiba." Sakura uttered mindlessly.

"So you came." Shikamaru nodded, and leaned back in his chair, to get a look at Kiba who was leaning on the bar, on the other side of Sakura. Shikamaru mused at this sight, the two ex-lovers awkwardly interacting, probably one of the most fascinating things for the genius.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world." The scruffy man smirked, looking Sakura up and down, "And boy am I glad that I didn't."

Their drinks arrived. Shikamaru smiled. Sakura quickly swallowed down the entire thing. Slamming the empty cup on the table, she turned back to Kiba.

"We need to talk."

"Look, if you are just going to yell at me, save your breath. I admit, I said some stupid shit yesterday, and I am sorry." Kiba announced, his eyes wide staring into Sakura's, "But some of the things I said were valid, Sakura, you know that."

The pink haired woman squeezed her cup, trying to contain her anger. "No." She shook her head, "We _do_ need to talk."

"We can talk all you want, baby." Kiba answered defeated, putting down his own empty cup now. The pet name that he so often used for her in the past made Sakura's heart flutter, and at the same time it made her heart ache. She pushed these thoughts aside, and hopped off the stool, clutching the surface of the bar for support.

She immediately caught Kiba's eyes wandering up and down her body, his dark, predatory eyes that made her knees wobble and her head spin. She wanted him to look at her like this, and more. She wanted him to throw her onto this bar this very instant, and just take her. She wanted to feel him inside her again. She felt empty and needed to be filled by him in every manner possible.

Unconsciously, she took a step towards him.

"Well isn't this a pretty sight."

Sakura snapped her head, and her stomach dropped to the floor.

There was Naruto, all happy and sunshine, but dressed in all back. However what shocked her more was the person standing next to him, the person who Naruto was clutching by the shoulder, no doubt leading him; the last remaining Uchiha.

"My bad Sasuke, but you know…." Naruto smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I think I can imagine it."


	7. Candles in the Wind

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 7: Candles in the Wind**

* * *

"Naruto! He shouldn't be here!" Sakura screamed, as she hurried towards the raven-haired man. The group froze, and watched the pink haired woman hurl herself at the surprised blonde.

"Sakura-chan, what the hell!?" Naruto screamed, dodging her hand as she aimed to slap it away from Sasuke's shoulder. She narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Me? What are _you_ doing?" The offended man whined, watching his furious best friend rush to Sasuke's aid, who appeared to be completely unaffected by the sudden outburst from the woman.

"Sakura." He suddenly spoke, not moving a muscle, while she circled her arms around one of his biceps, holding to him. "It's okay. Calm down."

"It is certainly not okay!" Sakura snapped, glaring at Naruto who kept his distance form the fuming woman, "Last time I checked, he was still under house arrest, so what makes any of this okay?!"

"Sakura, chill out! His guards didn't even noticed a thing, they were too busy playing poker, okay?" Naruto glared back, moving closer to Sakura until he was right in front of her. "No one cares anymore."

"Like hell, no one cares! When Tsunade finds out that you sneaked Sasuke-kun out, she will kill you!"

"Oh please! Why? He is here with the Hokage-to-be, and the Chief Medical shinobi of Kohona, we have nothing to wor-"

"Oh no, you will not put this on me." Sakura retorted, pointing an accusatory finger at Naruto.

"What?! There is nothing to be put on you! We did nothing wrong, Sasuke is part of the Kohona 11! He is part of this damn family, this damn community and he is here with all his friends, celebrating, having fun, for once in his goddamn life!" Naruto threw his hands up in the air in an exaggerated manner. Sakura just frowned.

"Don't be so naïve. Sasuke-kun shouldn't be here, and you know it."

"Sakura." Sasuke spoke again, and this time it was not just from acknowledgment and Sakura became very aware of that.

"I am not an invalid, and Naruto is right. No one cares, Sakura." He spoke slowly, but very clearly. Sakura eyed the black cloth covering his eyes with displeasure. It used to be just a bandage wrapped around his head, to cover the emptiness, but he had asked to replace it with something more _normal_, as he said himself, to feel more normal.

"I didn't say that."

"But you thought it, you still do. You think I can't handle anything because I'm blind." Sasuke said, his lips forming the tiniest smile, "Don't forget Sakura, for a ninja a sight is a mere advantage, not a necessity."

Before Sakura could throw something back at him, Naruto grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the blind man. No one else moved a muscle; they just watched the three teammates interact.

"Now Sakura-chan, can you please calm down?" Naruto pulled the pink haired woman to his chest, smiling down at her with that typical Naruto smile. "Just enjoy the evening, with all your _friends_." When he said that, Sakura swore that out of the corner of his eye, he glared at Kiba, who was still leaning against the bar. She noticed that unlike the rest of their friends, he wore a frown on his face.

"Naruto, don't try and sugarcoat this." Sakura explained, ripping herself from his arms. "This is in no way, okay."

Sakura fumed, but Naruto would have none of that, he grabbed her by her forearms and tugged her to him once more, he extended his other hand to wrap it around Sasuke's shoulder, bringing both of his best friends together in an awkward hug.

"When was the last time we have been out together like this? The entire team 7, actually out somewhere?" Naruto grinned, squeezing them both tight. Sasuke just stood there, allowing the blonde to visibly molest him in front of the entire club, while the pink haired woman wore an ice-cold expression, still trying to deflect Naruto's attempts to sway her.

"This isn't the entire team 7 dumbass, we are missing Kakashi, Yamato and Sai!" Sakura snapped, raising her chin up high in arrogance. She stood still, but found it hard to maintain a cold composure when pressed up against the blonde.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you know what I mean? I mean the last time the three of us hung out was probably back when we were just 13." Naruto smiled, patting her head. Sakura gazed at Sasuke, who remained silent, his lips in a tight line. She sighed.

"I'm still not happy with this," She spoke looking away.

"Well, there are a lot of things I am not happy with, Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke sourly, and this time he made it evident who he was referring to as he turned his head to glare at the dog nin. Kiba just smiled animatedly at the blonde, and lifted his right hand, giving Naruto the finger.

The group fell silent. Naruto rolled his eyes, returning his gaze to his best friends. "But let's compromise tonight, shall we?"

Sakura stared into his sea blue orbs. They were glistering, so innocently yet they held some much more than she was aware of. Sometimes she wondered when Naruto grew up into this man, without her realizing.

"Fine, fine! But I'm taking Sasuke-kun home at midnight!"

"Sakura! That's like in two hours! Look, I'll take him, and it will be at two."

"One."

"Half past one?"

Sakura threw her head back in frustration. "God fine, fine!" She closed her eyes and sighed. "You guys make me feel so old, like I am your mother or something."

Naruto laughed happily, and squeezed both of his friends tighter to him. Sakura finally felt herself melting against Naruto, and turned to look at Sasuke who seemed to be finally relaxing a little too. He held an unreadable expression as always, but the muscles in his face were much more lenient than before.

"You know, you are right actually Sakura. We should go find those faggots after all, I mean it's not a party until Sai starts giving lap dances." Naruto smiled playfully, his hold withering a little. Sakura took the opportunity to untangle herself from his arms, effectively freeing the silent Uchiha.

"Language, Naruto." Sakura frowned, crossing her arms across her chest, "Plus aren't you forgetting _why_ we are actually here? It's Neji's birthday party for god's sakes! How about finding him first?!"

"Oh, right. Good idea." Naruto mumbled, scratching his chin in thought, "Where would an ice cube hide at a wild party?"

"Funny." Sakura added dryly, "I believe Lee dragged him off somewhere."

"Well then let's go find them!" Naruto chirped happily, grabbing both Sakura and Sasuke by their arms, getting ready to set out into the wild crowd of dancing bodies.

"No." Sakura suddenly stated, slipping her arm delicately out of Naruto's warm grasp.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?"

"I…I just forgot that I had to talk with someone."

"Kiba." Naruto said, not asking, but rather stating accusatorily.

She could hear her heartbeat loudly, and suddenly sensed the uncomfortable tension amongst the trio. Everyone fell silent, and the silence became unbelievably exaggerated in comparison to the loud beating of the music and the roaring screams coming from the dance floor.

She didn't care. She didn't care what anyone thought. She ignored Ino's disapproving glare and Shikamaru sympathetic smile. She brushed off Naruto's annoyed sigh. She had to speak with Kiba, and she wasn't about to compromise her plan for dignity; too late for that anyway.

"What is happening?" Chouji suddenly blurted out, his speech slurred and overall whiny but still comprehendible.

"Nothing, nothing, we are just going to dance how about that, huh?" Ino smiled, a poor attempt to break the tension. She grabbed Chouji's hand to help him up from the stool he was slouched on, but soon as she let go, Chouji's entire form went tumbling down to the floor.

"Shit!" Ino screamed, coming to Chouji's aid, "Better take him outside to get some fresh air and water." She added alarmingly, propping Chouji's hand around her should, lifting him up.

"I'll come with you." Shikamaru said as took Chouji's other lifeless arm, and swung it around his frame, taking noticeably more of Chouji's weight upon him.

"So much for getting wasted." Ino mumbled under her breath as the three disappeared into the dancing crowd.

Once Ino's dazzling hair vanished in the swarm of people, and Sakura could no longer see her, she turned back to focus her attention on the rest of the group, and smiling, flipped her pink hair back over her shoulder in a casual manner, "I'll catch up with you later."

"Sakura…" Naruto started in protest, but was cut off by the deep voice coming from the Uchiha standing next to him.

"Naruto, go ahead, I want to have a word with her."

Sakura shuffled uncomfortably in her heels. She crossed her legs and then uncrossed them. She watched as the blonde sighed, and waved over at Shino who was left behind by his drinking buddy. The bug-user slowly got up, wobbling ever so slightly, and the two men left, leaving Sasuke and Sakura standing awkwardly by the bar, with Kiba still leaning against the wooden construction. One of his hands was resting on the surface of the bar, while the other was gently grasping a glass; he was observing the current situation with an amused smirk on his face.

Sakura really wanted to punch him.

"Well?" she looked at the raven-haired man, crossing her arm, "What do you want to talk about, Sasuke?"

"I don't feel like yelling it at you over the music, can we go somewhere quiet?"

Sakura sighed, her fingers subtly reaching for her as she unconsciously started playing with a small strand of her bubblegum pink hair. She looked around discreetly, trying to avoid any eye contact with the dog nin who, she noticed, was still staring at her.

As she whipped her head around, to face away from the sexy piece of man, she spotted numerous modernistic metal doors lined up alongside the wall next to the bar. Seeing a giggling couple exist one of the doors, she realized they must've been private rooms, meant for groups or private parties to rent while the club was operating normally. At this time, at this party people seemed to have taken up the rooms as a relief from the overbearing music and perhaps a chance for a little intimacy.

Sakura rolled her eyes; as she watched another obviously drunk couple, enter the room on the far left.

"This way." Sakura stated, grabbing Sasuke's hand gently, and leading him to nearest lustrous door. She slowly opened it slightly, peeking quickly inside to make sure no one was doing anything in there that was not meant for the public eye. Confirming the room's vacancy, she pushed the door opened all the way, and entered the small space, with Sasuke right behind her. Sakura looked back, her eyes lingering on the dog nin, who returned her gaze from the bar. He wore a sad expression, which surprised the kunoichi, but she brushed it off and smiled, hopefully signaling to the brunette that they will talk soon.

The pink haired woman closed the door, making sure to take her time, until she heard the soft click, a confirmation that the door indeed closed. She ran her hands from her waist, down to the hem of her short dress, dusting herself off. She suddenly felt very awkward. She realized she had brought her first childhood love into a small, intimate, room where they were all alone

Turning around, she spotted Sasuke sitting on the closest couch. He sat straight with his hands on his tights.. The room was small, but spacious, Sakura noted. There were three black leather couches, situated at each of the three sides of the wall. On the fourth wall, next to the door she was standing at, was a small bar and a large plasma TV. There was a modern looking glass coffee table placed in the middle of the room. The kunoichi noticed large speakers on each corner of the room, probably for the private groups to be able to play just as much jarring music inside, as could be heard outside. Sakura looked up, the ceiling was a giant mirror. She stood there admiring the view of herself, and Sasuke from the above, before she returned her gaze back to her teammate.

"This is better." Sakura noted dully. It was a lot better. It seemed as if the rooms were sound proof, or at least insulated at some level, because she could barely hear any of that blazing racket from outside.

"Hn." Sasuke replied settling into the newfound cushy material. The trademark Uchiha response made Sakura smile.

"So, what's on your mind Sasuke?" Sakura asked nonchalantly, settling herself beside the raven-haired man on the couch. The dark man just shifted to face the center of the room, not Sakura who was snugly next to him.

"You need to stop this, Sakura."

Sakura perked up.

"Stop what?."

"Stop trying to meddle with clan affairs." Sasuke said firmly, "You don't belong with those people."

"What?" Sakura asked bewildered, "What are you talking about? What people? What affairs?"

"Don't play dumb, Sakura. Stop involving yourselves with clan business. You will get hurt, and so will the people you care about."

"What?"

"Let me make it clear for you. Stop meddling with the Inuzuka clan."

"Sasuke…I know there are some things out of my boundaries but I know my limits." Sakura replied coldly, crossing her arms across her chest and puffing with annoyance. Here she was, getting lectured by an Uchiha on clans?

"You evidently don't. Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Neji….all people will preset destinies, people that do not relate to the rest of us." Sasuke spoke slowly, pronouncing each name with clear dedication and exaggerated enunciation that made Sakura cringe. It was almost as if each name connoted a complete story, all made up in Sasuke's mind.

"Don't be ridiculous, things may have be restricted in the past, but things change. Clan importance is no longer prominent."

"It may not be as loud, but it is still there." Sasuke turned to look at her, and she stared back at the lifeless black cloth.

"But-"

"Sakura, wasn't it convenient that from our graduating year two out of the three passing teams were made from purely clan bred offspring, while our team consisted of the human Kyuubi container, the last remaining Uchiha and the girl with no legacy? Not to mention our sensei, man whose father was the village's reject, a man who has lost everything himself."

"He didn't lose everything." Sakura said sternly, narrowing her eyes. Kakashi was a special man, much closer to her heart that she showed. Her sensei never did pay much attention to her when they were genins or chunins for that matter, but that's because Kakashi has always been a little old fashioned, with preference for male ninjas and the idealism of male dominance in the battle but Sakura managed to change his ideas. She was the first on the team to pass the jonin exam, not to mention being the first with an official title, and a heck of a good one. She had become Kakashi's prized possession.

It was true that Kakashi had suffered great losses in his past, but he has also built up a new life, and surrounded himself with a new group of people that yet have to lose him. He most certainly was not alone.

"He is ninja, he is bound to lose everything."

"Why are we even talking about this Sasuke?"

"Because you are involving yourself with heavy issues that have nothing to do with you. You need to understand, that by nature, you will never truly be a part of any clan member's life." The pale man claimed, leaning his back against the cushy pillow behind him, and dropping his head against the wall.

"Oh?"

"You need to stop. You don't belong with them-"

"Them? _Them?_ My life-long best friend, my most important work partner, my boyfriend?" Sakura exclaimed, jerking way with anger. Suddenly she stopped her self as the realization hit her "Ex, ex-boyfriend." She clarified, hoping that somehow Sasuke has become mentally deficient, so maybe he didn't catch her awful mistake. Sasuke seemed to have brushed it off, or simply took no notice of it.

"Yes, those people. Look, I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to get back to Kiba, and you are trying to reestablish you place in his life. But, there is no place for you."

"Excuse me?"

"You think you can change something? You think you can change hundreds and hundreds years of traditions? What makes you so special? You know my brother thought he could, and look what that has accomplished? The Uchiha legacy dead, torn out of the last remaining Uchiha."

Sakura gulped, and looked at her lap. Where has this behavior com from?

"It's a curse Sakura. I was freed, at a price of course. But Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba…they are not. They all have duties, obligations, some of them probably don't even realize yet, maybe they don't know, but you must." Sasuke folded his arms in front of his face and rested his chin on his hands like he did ever so often. "They will marry specific people, bear specific children, engage in specific negotiations, interact with specific people, and before you know it, they won't be a part of your life anymore."

The words hurt, Sakura realized, but they did not hurt her because she found them offensive or absurd; worse, they hurt because she realized they were true.

"You are free, you can do whatever you want. You chose how and who with you will live your life. You have Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Lee….me. Surely, we are not the most convenient group of men, but…" Sasuke went quiet, and Sakura could not help herself but to stare at him wide eyed. Sasuke has changed throughout the last couple of years, that much was evident to anyone; and she has even been lead to believe that he started to care about her, but she had never heard him say anything that would confirm those speculations. This was outmost shocking to the young kunoichi.

"What are you saying? Are you asking me to choose amongst all available bachelors that don't have a 'preset destiny'." Sakura asked sarcastically, still shaken by Sasuke's behavior, but nevertheless ready to stand her ground. "'Cause I'm good, thanks."

"I'm just telling you to not waste it on him."

The vein on Sakura's forehead popped, and her nose cringed in disgust. Her bad temper has gotten the best of her, when she slammed her fist on small glass table viciously shattering the poor object completely apart. She did not even look at the mess she created, just kept her gaze coldly at Sasuke who also seemed completely unaffected by the tremendous ruckus and hunting glass shards flying about.

"I …..love him." Sakura whispered, letting the words out before she could stop them.

"Then stop." Sasuke said as a matter of fact. Sakura clenched her devastating fist that was still placed in midair, where a glass table stood just a moment ago.

"Sasuke, by know you should have learned that-"

"They are just feelings Sakura, they go away." He continued, ignoring her protests. "I'm afraid for your safety."

"My safety?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Well that is mighty kind of you!"

"There are rumors that the Hyuuga and Inuzuka have a alliance forming, and it is fact that Hiashi is capable of everything if anyone gets in his way."

"Sure, but how does that concern me?"

"What is the one method every clan uses to form alliances?" Sasuke murmured quietly and if Sakura's undivided attention weren't focused on Sasuke she would have not heard it.

"What?" Sakura questioned her ex-teammate impatiently, too irritated to even think about the question.

"Marriage."

"Oh." Sakura mumbled dumbly, the information settling in loudly in her brain. It made sense, surely. Kiba is the next head for the Inuzuka clan, he has to mate his mate within three weeks, and Inuzuka is forming an alliance with the Hyuuga clan. Crystal clear; Kiba is going to marry a byakugan-user and make lots of powerful little offspring.

Sakura wanted to roll her eyes at the fucking irony. What was she doing? What was she trying to accomplish? She was nothing in comparison to these two clans. Her glimpse of hope began to diminish.

Sakura Haruno could never compete with prodigies, outside of battle that is.

"You have to let him go Sakura, you have no future together." Sasuke surprisingly softer voice snapped Sakura back to reality where her tears stung her cheeks as they rolled lazily down her face. She didn't even realize she was crying.

"You have to move on."

Sakura wanted to yell, scream at Sasuke for he dared to talk to her in a manner that completely undermined his characters, and the reasons why he couldn't love her back. Rationality was always the Uchiha's strength and weakness. He was driven by hate to complete goal that rationally fell perfectly into his life, yet ironically destroyed the very foundation he fought to rebuild. Irrational. Should she really be taking advice from a man who lost everything?

Honestly Sakura wanted to curl up in ball in the corner of a dark room and just cry her heart out. However she learnt long ago that crying does not accomplish anything, therefore one, especially a shinobi, needs to stand strong, with head held high, showing no signs of weakens.

Unfortunately even the blind Sasuke could clearly see Sakura's struggle. She was not born into a clan or a prestige life of a shinobi. With no legacy, and no obligations Sakura carved her own destiny. Initially Sasuke thought shinobi like that were scum, trash and are not worthy of obtaining such title. He thought one could only become a shinobi with the correct predetermination. Then spending years and years being chased down by Naruto and Sakura. Seeing Naruto never losing his faith in finding his best friend and Sakura never losing her faith in saving her childhood love, things changed. He thought they were foolish. Their goals pointless, but in some sense necessary, as they did not seem to have any other purpose.

Naruto, even though born from two prestige clans, grew up with no such connections. Sakura's parents, being low class shinobi, did not provide anything for her, yet somehow, Sasuke has come to realize, that both Naruto and Sakura had become shinobi he fears the most.

It was true that the world was changing, but it was not changing fast enough to make their generation, the beginning of true freedom. There were still limits, limits that Sakura was tiptoeing on right now.

"Promise me-"

The metal door flew open with such force that the entire room shock. The loud hammering music flowed into the small space, and Sakura had to cover her ears as the initial reaction to the sudden change in volume caused her eardrums to vibrate uncomfortably.

There in the doorway stood Ino, her hair a mess, her makeup smeared and sweat dripping down her face, exaggerating her dramatic entry.

"Ino?"

"Ambush! The entire north area of the village has been attacked!"

Both Sakura and Sasuke jumped up in alarm.

"The Uchiha compound!"

"The hospital?"

"Yes, yes! Hurry! There were three waves of consecutive attacks, performed by three distinctive squads of about 20 shinobi in each. Their origin in unknown, but they seem to be specializing in earth style and high-level explosive jutsu. Tsunade is calling an emergency evacuation of the area and all conscious shinobi to duty." Ino spoke quickly and loudly as the three took off, running straight through the club to the exit.

"Conscious?" Sasuke asked evenly.

"Well most of the jonins and chunins were at this party, and lot of them are wasted or passed out." Ino said, dashing quietly across the spacious room, "It certainly was an impeccable timing the attackers chose, wasn't it?"

"Someone on the inside?"

"The investigation department is suspicious of that, yes, but we have no leads yet. The most important thing is to get everyone out of north districts and eliminate the intruders."

The club has significantly cleared, aside from the few passed out bodies, and couple of intoxicated people frantically trying to orientate themselves, the club was empty. The ear shattering music was still on however. The insulated rooms really did work.

"What the hell happened here?" Sakura yelled at her best friend, who was few meters in front of her. Without looking back, Ino answered.

"I was outside with Chouji, when an ANBU appeared, telling us that village is under attack and that we need to get everyone out! "

"Well you didn't do a very good job at it!" Sakura answered sourly, referring to the remaining people stumbling around.

"This location is not in the ambushed perimeter-"

"But the protocol-"

"No time to follow the book Sakura." Ino spat at her friend sourly. Not giving her a single glance, they dashed out of the building and onto the much more vibrant street. People were pushing in crowds, moving to the east of the village. The three shinobi rapidly took off, and up, landing on the roof of the nearest building. "You are just going to have to do your job, no matter what."

Sakura was taken back by Ino's cold stare. The blonde looked with determination towards the Hokage's tower, her hair ruffling dramatically in the wind. Sakura realized they were still dressed in tight little dresses and heels. However her preoccupations with her attire were cut short when a loud thundering noise struck and the entire earth shock, gently swaying the wooden building. Stabilizing her stance with few pumps of chakra into her soles she looked ahead, in the direction of the jarring sound and her throat dropped to her stomach.

There were dozens of startlingly large black clouds grazing the tips of building ahead. The Hokage's tower was completely covered up in the dark gruesome blanket of smoke, no doubt the aftermath of explosions. Sakura's eyes widened as she desperately tried to search for the familiar light blue rooftop of the Kohona hospital in the chaos.

Nothing, everything was just black. Sakura just stared at horror at the smoke rising from almost every building in kilometer radius of the Hokage tower. The darkness of the night combined with the explosives in the air made vision almost completely impaired.

Thinking of vision, Sakura's head suddenly snapped back to Sasuke, who was silently standing behind her.

"Sasuke, you need to get out of here, head to the south!" Sakura rasped, her throat suddenly very dry. She didn't want to show her despair in her voice. It was common knowledge that both of the most prestige Kohona clans compound resided in the north, Uchiha and Hyuuga, and there was no doubt they were both critically damaged at this point.

"Sakura, what do you see?" He asked boldly, ignoring her request. He was not going to ask her directly, he didn't want to show his attachment to his family's legacy, but it was blatantly apparent he was only interested in the condition of the Uchiha compound.

She did not want to tell him something that might not be the truth later.

"We'll take care of everything. There is enough panic as it is, we don't need to cause more by having a man who is under arrest, running around during the attack." Sakura said, trying to keep her voice as heartless as possible, but as always, miserably failing. She turned, facing Ino once again. The blonde looked absolutely enraged, but not in her usual annoyed matter, but in a heartwarming patriotic way.

"You expect me to do nothing while, the village my brother died for, falls to ashes?" Both Sakura and Ino twitched as his chilling words.

"The only way you _can_ help right now, is to get out of the way." Ino spat at him suddenly, her outburst unexpected by both team 7 members. Sakura could sense Sasuke tensing up.

"She is right Sasuke-kun. If you can't leave for my sake, do it for Naruto. You know, he won't be able to fight properly if he has to keep an eye on you, which you know very well he will do if you show up." Sakura smiled, but did not turn to look at Sasuke. She knew that would get through to him, it always did. She heard him growl under his breath, but then his chakra disappeared, indicating he has left without any warning.

"Great, now that we are done chatting our lives away, let's get the fuck move on!" Ino hissed angrily, and took off once again towards the complete mess ahead of them, at an incredibly increased speed. They both ran noticeably faster, without Sasuke behind them.

"Hey! I understand you are stressed right now, but Sasuke-kun is just concerned about the village, you can't blame him!" Sakura snapped back, focusing on the rooftops ahead, which began to become more and more distressed as they got closer to the battle zone.

"No Sakura, he is not concerned for the village, he is only concerned for the Uchiha compound. He is just a selfish prick. He's family is dead, he does not have anything to lose, I on the other hand have my entire family to protect, so excuse me for being a little bitchy."

They travelled rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence. Sakura tried to not think of Sasuke's previous words, but they rattled uncomfortably in her mind, scratching the corners of her consciousness with agonizing pain.

_"Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji, Hinata, Neji….all people will preset destinies, people that do not relate to the rest of us."_

* * *

"Get back!" Shikamaru wailed, as he performed a quick hand seal and watched as a claw shaped shadow travelled up to his opponent's neck and threw him across the destroyed street; effectively breaking his attack at Tenten. The said brunette was busy, in close range combat with an oversized, greasy man, easily three times her size.

"Thanks!" She yelled in gratitude, as she managed to ram a large metal mace into her opponent's face, crushing his skull, and inflicting the fatal blow. The man dropped dead, with a heavy thud. Tenten smiled, panting heavily trying to catch her breath.

"How many more are there?!" Tenten turned to look down the demolished road at her comrade, who was on his knees still controlling the shadow.

"My predictions are that we eliminated most of the decoys. Now the real attackers, which I assume to be about 15 of them, are hiding underground." Shikamaru murmured, scanning the area, which seemed to be clear. There were few of leaf shinobi lying around the crumbled brick walls and flipped over carts, but from what Shikamaru could deduce, they were all still breathing.

"Underground?"

"Earth style. That's how they infiltrated the village so easily. They seem to be able to mold their forms into the earth, combing their chakra with the natural energy in earth, and travelling about." Shikamaru answered, finally releasing the jutsu, and getting up. "The problem will not be eliminating them, the problem will be locating them."

"What do you think they are after?" Tenten asked, picking up the large metal weapon still jammed into the man's skull. Proving its effectiveness, she decided to take it with her.

"I have few theories, but none that lead to a reasonable enough deduction." The brunette said, scanning the area suspiciously. It was suddenly too quiet. He looked up in anticipation.

In a blink of an eye, both Tenten and Shikamaru were sent flying a good 100 meters back, as a blast wave from a near by explosion diffused through the area. Their bodies travelled at an incredible speed, making any attempts at chakra usage near impossible. Tenten lost the faint traces of Shikamaru chakra signature, as her body crashed into grumbled building, cracking the surface she landed. Her form slid down the wall, landing on the ground lifelessly. The loud boom that Tenten was able to register for only a split second, was overtook by a rapid ringing noise inside her head.

The weapon user growled pitifully in pain that spread like fire through her entire body. She instinctively moved to clutch her head in agony but was unable to do so as her arms twitched uncontrollably, not listening to her brains' commands.

Her mind was fuzzy now, only acknowledging the shade and light, everything else being a blur. Shikamaru flashed into her mind, before she was again taken by the sudden surge of pain running through her spine.

"F-fuck." She croaked hoarsely, somehow finding her voice. She was going to die and she knew it. The pain was beyond unbearable; she wanted to claw her eyes out but none of her limps seemed to be functioning. Her skin burned, and her bones trembled. She couldn't tell where her body began and where it stopped.

It was like having thousands of little needles poking all her insides; someone crushing all of her bones with large rocks; various sharp knives stabbing her flesh. She felt her eyes closing, her mind turning into a soup.

Then the darkness came.

* * *

"…."

_"Where am I?"_

The burning sensation painfully travelling up and down the path. There were mountains and mountains of darkness. Swirls and curves of light enveloped her vision, impairing it.

_"Am I dead?"_

"….."

"Hey! Hey!"

The thin streaks of light, started to grow, increasing in size, pushing the darkness aside forcefully. Cold stream of water started gushing out of widening light. The liquid lazily rolled down its path, covering the blazing feeling, cooling it.

_"Ha it's nice."_

"Tenten!"

The light, now completely wiped out the dark, shone brightly, eliminating the pleasant water. A smile formed on her face, and everything turned blurry once more.

"Come back!"

The brunette gasped for air, as her eyes shot open. Her body jerked upwards unnaturally, but was caught by pair of green glowing hands, emitting pleasant healing chakra.

Coming back to her senses, Tenten quickly took in her surrounding. It was still night, and the smell of smoke and blood made her eyes water, and her throat dry. She felt like choking. She looked up to see a pair of watery emerald eyes staring down at her.

It was Sakura, holding her in her arms that were still rapidly pumping healing chakra into Tenten's body. The medical shinobi clutched Tenten to her suddenly, tightly squeezing her.

"God, I thought we lost you." Sakura gasped.

Tenten allowed the refreshing feel of healing chakra wash over her body, before she pulled away roughly from Sakura's clutch.

"Shikamaru. Is Shikamaru alright?" she panted, looking around the horrendous looking street, or what was left of, as the explosion seemed to have wiped out most of the houses on the road.

"He was thrown into a cart of rice, the lucky bastard." Ino said, suddenly popping up behind Sakura, smiling down sweetly at Tenten, who was still a bit disoriented, "He left when we came, entrusting you to us. He seemed to have figured something out as he headed for the Hokage tower."

"Oh. That's good." Tenten replied lifelessly, still feeling very weak.

"You need to take it easy Tenten. I tried to do the best I could at these conditions, but you were on a brink of death. You need to head south, no more fighting. You did enough." Sakura said sternly.

Tenten just nodded and with both Sakura's and Ino's help slowly stood back up. Feeling surprisingly well suddenly, she gave them both a smile and took off, visibly slower than the average shinobi, but nevertheless gracefuly.

"Sakura, that explosion was…"

"Incredible." Sakura finished Ino's unsure comment, looking in the direction of its source. She could feel its threating force while viewing its effect from hundreds of meters away, and was not surprise when she saw Tenten's unmoving body on the floor. She honestly thought the brunette would not wake up. She was afraid to see what that explosion's true purpose was.

"We need to keep going."

Sakura nodded, and took off with Ino, following the crater created by the deadly detonation. Sakura was just worried; that the scene she would arrive at would be a stomach churning one.

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, noticeably surpassing Ino, who gave her a strange look.

"Sakura please, save some energy for the battle field!" The blonde shouted irritated.

The pink haired kunoichi ignored her friend and simply pumped more chakra into the soles of her feet. She became painfully aware that they were nearing the street, where the Kohona Hospital resided.

As she predicted the mark left by the abominable blast lead her to her well-known work place. The scene was as horrific as she predicted. Countless of lifeless bodies, broken objects, ruined constructions. The area, roughly the size of a football field was completely wiped, no traces of roads, just dirt and debris. The battle was still ongoing, numerous pairs fighting on the ground, and couple of blurs in the air. The sound of painful growls and metal clinging together was all that was heard.

There was something off however, she knew for a fact that this was where the hospital _should_ have been placed, the gate to the building should be placed exactly on the ground she was standing on, but all she saw under her feet, was soil, not a trace of the once large, white building.

Her knees wobbled in panic, adrenaline rushing through her shaking body. She opened her mouth gasping for air, in utter shock unable to fully comprehend the situation. Was the hospital really gone? Blown off the face of the earth? What about the nurses? Doctors? Patients?

Has she completely failed? She couldn't protect the one responsibility she was given. She was far more worthless than Kiba had insinuated.

Her knees suddenly gave out and she fell onto the land beneath her feet.

"Sakura?!"

She registered a stinging feeling in her right ankle. The sting grew into a burn, which grew into agonizing scorch; then it started to spread with incredible speed. It was as if someone injected thousands of little deadly snakes into her body, and each snake was eating its way towards every inch of her. It was not until her entire form lost composure, and she fell face first onto the ground, that she realized she had been wounded, and the wound was a fatal one.

"Sakura!"

The voice was louder now. Who was that? She did not recognize it, or did she…?

The noises faded out; there was only a faint sound of people shouting, weapons clinging as they met in battle, and a dog barking.

'A dog…?' She thought emptily, with a sad smile. Letting the thought go, Sakura allowed her brain to shut off, and her world to enter the all-consuming blackness.

* * *

**_Sorry for the long wait, but here it is, chapter 7! I'm sorry for the lack of Kiba and Sakura interaction but we gotta have some action. Thank you again for the [mostly] positive reviews! They keep me writing! Now onto the story, what the heck is happening? Will Sakura be okay? Where the hell is Kiba? This will all be answered in the next chapter!_**

**_As always, read and review please!_**


	8. Fire & Gunpowder do not Sleep Together

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. _**

* * *

** Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 8: Fire and Gunpowder do not Sleep Together**

* * *

The stench of death filled Kiba's sensitive nostrils, making him cringe. Everything was amplified for the dog nin, the adrenaline pumping in his veins. He was on the edge, his claws out, teeth prominent and eyes more sharpened than ever.

He couldn't control it; he didn't want to stop it. The thirst to kill, to destroy, to avenge was too big. He watched the hospital shatter to pieces right before his eyes, and he lost it.

The hospital represented _her_. It was her legacy that was disrespected, and it was his responsibility to demonstrate that no one could play with his girl.

Kiba was far too gone as he ripped his attacker's hand off with his bare teeth to contemplate why he refereed to Sakura as 'his girl'.

"Kiba! For fuck's sake!" Shino screamed at his friend in horror having witnessed Kiba's animalistic actions, "Control yourself!"

Kiba suddenly froze, as his mind spun in mindless circles, too disoriented by the entire battle in front of his eyes. Something was wrong. The tanned man snapped his head up; eyes wide open in horror at the realization.

Teiru was inside. His little cousin was inside.

The anger burned his lungs, and he couldn't breath for a slip of a second. His jaw snapped open, his eyes shut closed as he wailed loudly in sorrow and rage; the animal within him breaking free. He crouched down, on all fours, he cracked his eyes open and everything was suddenly much clearer, much sharper. He spotted Shino about 10 meters from him, fighting off a bulky man. He watched in slow motion as Shino tripped over a crater in the ground, and with a sick smile the man above him prepared for a final blow.

Kiba growled and in a flash of moment he was on the man's chest, his teeth around his neck, snapping his spine. The large body fell onto the floor with a heavy thud.

"Kiba?"

Kiba turned around swiftly, still on all fours, stared at the man that spoke his name in such fear. He only growled, unable to form words. Shino looked positively disgusted.

"What are you doing?" He asked in complete awe.

Kiba didn't understand at first. He was under the impression that he just saved his friend's ass, not to mention he was protecting the village, doing his job. However as he looked down, instead of finding a pair of human hands supporting him on the ground, he saw a pair of clawed monstrosities clutching the soil in a deathly grasp.

He snapped his jaw open, as wide as it would go, trying to speak, to understand what was happening. However no words came out, he felt he neck bending backwards, as his muzzle expanded inhumanly. A burning sensation ignited in his upper jaw, and he felt his already abnormal canine teeth extending, sharpening.

In panic he wailed, and brought his 'hands' up to his head, to try to tune out the uncomfortable ringing. Immediately a sharp pang of pain shot through his system, as he unconsciously clawed at his skull. He growled in desperation, jerking away from his own actions. The blood trickled down his face, blocking his vision.

"Stop it Kiba! You are just hurting yourself!"

The rough voice of his friend tore through his eardrums. He wanted to scream, it was too loud. He couldn't breathe, because the odor of death and dirt suffocated him. He couldn't open his eyes, because if he did, they burned and everything was blurry. He could feel his bones shifting; something was happening that he did not understand. Suddenly a loud snap in his backside shock through his entire body and his form gave out, and he tumbled fully to the ground.

However the pain did not subside, it only heightened. He clutched at the ground helplessly, biting into anything in his path to muffle his cries of pain.

"What he fuck is happening Kiba?!" Shino screamed, coming to his friend in help.

"Ughh—" Kiba grunted, trying to move away from Shino's offending hands. He didn't want him to touch him; he didn't think he could handle the pressure.

"K-kiba, you have to get up, t-this is a battlefield!" The bug user stuttered in panic

'Fuck that' Kiba thought, the surging pain only thing in his mind. His body kept twitching uncontrollably. The constant waves of agony washed over him, jerking his limbs unnaturally. His cheek grazed the rough surface of the ground as his head jolted in shock. He had lost all control over his body.

Out of nowhere absurdly powerful scent blew into his nostrils, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Kiba?!"

He heard Shino yell out again, concerned. Kiba only grunted in torment and confusion. This suddenly appearing smell was extremely pleasant. His shifting bones calmed, the agonizing feeling in his limbs dulled and the ringing in his head faded. He cracked one eye open. The image was still blurred but the obscure image of grey shadows fighting held a definite image of pink. Somewhere ahead of him, _she_ was.

"S-sakura." He croaked in deathly whisper. He couldn't even hear himself.

"Okay Kiba that's it. Get the fuck up. Whatever it is, you obviously are in no shape to fight anymore." Shino concluded, forcefully grabbing the shinobi's forearms, lifting him up.

"S…..S-to..stop." Kiba breathed, struggling against the man's grip. He had to get to her. She was his salvation.

Shino suddenly stiffened, and Kiba stilled in his arms.

"Sakura!" The bug user cried out in alert, his head snapping to focus on an image in the distance. Kiba could not see what his friend did but he surely smelt it.

Her normally divine scent was changing abruptly. The dog nin shuddered in disgust as her smell morphed into a sickening redolence. The unexpectedly new revolting odor knocked him out of his lifeless posture as he started struggling against his friend's grip in panic.

He stopped when her scent completed disappeared. His eyes wide, as the realization hit him.

The intent to scream turned into a piercing bark as he untangled himself from Shino's hold and took off on all four towards the faded scent he knew so well. The next thing he registered was a sharp hit into his head before he fell to the ground once more, this time his body remained lifeless and his mind dead.

* * *

The bright sun broke the unlit room's interior, dispatching the darkness. Kiba grunted as the blinding light entered his sensitive eyes. He had kept them closed ever since he woke up, not daring to play with the odds that seemed to have been against him lately.

However once he noted he was sitting awkwardly on a cold floor, and just how sore his entire body was, he realized he must have been in that position for a while. The room was quiet, cold and scentless. That's why he was not quick to his feet.

The brunette grunted as his fight with the sun's ray continued. He blinked furiously to finally achieve some sort of a relief to the stinging radiance. Once his eyes were fully opened he froze. The room was very familiar to him.

He was in one of the Inuzuka cellars. It was a small room, normally used to keep food and supplies, especially through war or famine. At the moment it was empty. There was a tiny window at the top of the wall, across from Kiba. The old metal door was located next to Kiba's motionless body; there was a small window in the center of the metal surface, adored with bars. That would be all right, but as he studied his situation further he saw that he was in fact chained to the wall. The superfluous large metal chained hugged his left ankle, and laid spread across the entire room, finding its end at the opposite wall. He tried to move his foot in resistance, but quickly realized it was a chakra-depleting instrument and an extremely high-level resistance jutsu. Kiba raised his eyebrow at the sight.

"Ma?" He called out.

Nothing.

"Hana?" He tried again.

Nothing.

Kiba sighed, his head falling back against the cool wall in defeat. He had such a headache. What the hell happened? His brows furrowed in thought. He remembered the attack, the fight….the fight!

'Shit!' Kiba thought, as he rammed the back of his head against the wall behind him. The hospital, Teiru, Shino …he remembered. The animal he felt within. Kiba closed his eyes. No, it must have been a dream, a very bad dream. And then, that scent…it couldn't be real.

Kiba jerked up in alert, the chain moving with him, the clutter echoing through the cellar.

"Ma!" Kiba repeated his previous claim. Her scent was obvious now, "I know you're there!" He called out into the darkness beyond the cellar door. His eyes were fixated on the tiny opening in the door. After another moment of silence, Kiba rolled his eyes in annoyance at his mother's behavior.

"What is the meaning of this!?" The tanned man growled loudly, motioning to his restrained leg.

"I warned you." His mother's sudden loud voice snapped Kiba's head in the door's direction. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Warned me?"

"I told you what to do in order to control the animal in you. You ignored me, and again went on a rampage." Tsume spoke, her face appearing in the little window on the door, "I gave you the control and you took it for granted. I cannot take anymore risks with you, until you mate."

"Are you serious right now?" Kiba grunted at his mother. "The village is under attack and you waste your time on this shit?!"

"The village was under attack a week ago. It's all over now."

"A week ago? How is that possible?" The brunette eyes widened in shock as his mind filled with questions. His attempted to move his hands but it was futile, so he remained still.

"I kept you sedated for the past week-"

"Sedated?!" Kiba's jaw fell open. His own mother drugged him? "Why the fuck-Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Have you?!" Tsume screamed, suddenly grabbing the bars in the window and bring her entire face into Kiba's vision. Her eyes were on fire and mouth twisted in rage. Kiba was honestly a little taken back by his mother's outbreak.

"Don't think I don't know about your rampage in the hospital."

Kiba's stopped with his aimless struggles against the chain and listened.

"Then seeing you on the battlefield, lose control again. I never felt more disappointed with you. I had no choice but to knock you out. You would have seriously injured or even kill somebody, and not just an enemy." Tsume whispered, and even thought her voice was small, it was penetrating and all-consuming. The dog nin stared ahead, stoic.

"It happened again?" Kiba just asked weakly. So it wasn't a dream. He lost control again, and this time he remembered what he looked like, what he felt, what _that_ felt like and he clearly could suddenly see Shino's disgusted face. What had he become?

"It was worse this time, the animal in you did not just escape, but it tried to separate completely. I wasn't there, but Hana saw everything. I did not think it would get this out of hand with you." Tsume lowered her eyes. Kiba suddenly noticed her tired face, the prominent circles under he eyes. "In fact I have never seen someone enter _that_ stage."

"Stage?"

"Don't you get it?! The closer you get to 23 without mating your blood bound you lose yourself. The animal that has always lived within you gets stronger and stronger because you don't give it what it wants, what it needs. It gets angry. Surely, you made yours furious by not mating yet."

Kiba opened his jaw to say something but could not find the words to formulate his reaction.

"You have two weeks. I'm serious now. You have to mate Hinata now."

"What happens if I don't mate in those weeks. I mean…what happens to the animal? To me?"

Tsume fixated her cold gaze at her son.

"I don't know…No one has ever _not_ mated." She spoke evenly. Kiba cringed.

"I just don't get it. Sakura said they are just hormones, that the reason why I act is my abnormal-"

"Oh! You are right. She is after all the fucking Inuzuka mastermind, isn't she?" Tsume gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Well no, but at least she gave me a reasonable argument. Not this beast shit!"

"She hasn't seen the real you then." Tsume uttered in one breath.

"Real me?" Kiba raised his eyebrow.

"On the battlefield, Kiba," Tsume inched eve closer to through the bars, as far as she could go, "the beast you turned into."

Kiba only narrowed his eyes.

"Wait, I remember everything just going dark…What happened to me? Did you knock me out?" Kiba snapped at his mother.

"Hana did." Tsume told to no one in particular, looking away, uninterested: "Thank god for that."

"What happened after? With the attack I mean."

"The hospital has been destroyed, beyond repair. In fact, even its cement foundations were blown off the face of the earth. The village had to appoint and new place for what was left of the medical department of Kohona." Kiba's mother spoke gently now.

Kiba's hands fisted with great difficult due to the restrains but they did.

"Doctors, nurses and patients alike. Everyone in the hospital at that time had died; not even their remains were found, lost in the explosion. " Tsume continued, ignoring the constricting pain in her heart. Teiru was like a second son really.

Kiba's head fell back against the cold surface behind him in defeat. He closed his eyes and hummed. Kirume was dead then too. The girl that had been fighting for her life in the hospital because of him died, because yet again he failed to do anything about it.

"Otherwise rest of the damage on the village was more or less repairable." Tsume spoke very slowly.

"And the rest of the shinobi?" Kiba spoke again, after having calmed from his little pity party. Tsume did not answer this time.

"Ma." Kiba repeated, looking at her again, "What about the rest?"

"...They're fine."

The dog nin did not miss the delay in her answer. He was growing angry again. This entire conversation was a bunch of bullshit. Moreover, his own mother has tied him up and thrown him into a cellar for a week. Who was she to talk about monsters?

"Well, Kiba, it is fairly obvious that their target was the hospital? It was the only building they blew up." The brunette paused, and took a deep breath. "Their target was the Kohona's healthcare system, and medical department. The head of Medicine included."

Kiba did not have to be told twice. The message was loud and clear and honestly it was everything he feared.

"They poisoned her Kiba. The moment she arrived at the battlefield they were ready. The attacker hid in the ground and injected poison straight into her bloodstream. It was the same poison as the one Teiru almost died from only it was apparently improved. There is a speculation that when Teiru was attacked and poison, it was just a test to see how far Sakura could suppress it. How easily she could find the antidote."

Kiba's entire body started shaking. He could feel his heart pumping rapidly.

"It was planned and the integration department cannot help but to suspect that there is someone the inside who helped them. Why did their target the Medical department is still a mystery but the entire integration department is hard at work."

"Sakura?" He cracked. He did not recognize the voice that spoke, because the ringing in his head was too loud. "Is…is she…dea-dead?"

Tsume met his eyes. They were empty.

"No."

Kiba relaxed.

"She is in coma."

Kiba closed his eyes and grunted. He was not stupid, and he was a shinobi on top of that. A long-week coma was as good as dead in this world.

"Let me go ma."

"You are going to go and see her." She said accusatory.

"Let me go, and I will give you what you want." Kiba said in defeat. The fighter within him dying as his complete attention was redirected at Sakura.

"You mean what you need to do."

Kiba shrugged. He only needed to do one thing at the moment.

* * *

**_9 months earlier_**

_"Ne Sakura-chan… tell us how many?" Naruto slurred loudly, leaning closer to his pink haired teammate. The Kohona 11 decided to have a nice outing in a bar to celebrate Shikamaru's birthday. The man did not want a celebration of any kind at all, but his team has planned a little surprise non-the less. It was near 2 am now, and most of the bar has cleared. Many of the their friends have left already too, Lee was the first to go getting himself drunk and dirty at a mere 10 o'clock. _

_Now, at the large booth at the back of the business, sat four well-known ninjas. Neji having drunk the least in the group, still composed, settled quietly at the corner of the wooden table. Next to him, now a less awkward Sai with a big grin on his face, satisfied as he had initiated a weird conversation. Next to him, fairly tipsy Kiba, lying across the spacious bench that was connected to the table, was listening to the more than interesting conversation next to him. _

_Extremely drunk Naruto and extremely drunk Sakura were discussing their sex lives. _

_"Naruto, a lady does not tell." Sakura purred back, with a sly smile adoring her flushed face. She did not budge however as Naruto came inches from her face. _

_"Sakura-chan, I'm just so curious. I heard so many rumors." He snickered, watching her pretty face frown. _

_"Rumors?"_

_"Apparently on the last mission you gave one to every one of your teammates." Naruto giggled, the bush brightening his already cheerful expression. Sakura did not miss a beat, just threw a sweet smile back. Kiba took a notice of this, and smirked. He sat up to enjoy the conversation properly._

_"And what exactly did I give them?" The medic ninja asked playfully, aware that all four pair of eyes were on her now. _

_"Blowjob." The blond answered enthusiastically. _

_"Is that what they say?" Sakura asked mockingly, "Hmm I wonder."_

_"Being a tease, are ya?" Kiba joined with a wide grin on his handsome face. Sakura threw him a small smile._

_"Well I'm sorry, I feel a little outnumbered. How about you all start sharing your stories and then will mine." _

_Kiba caught that little twinkle in her eyes as she spoke. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was so fresh and bright, the only light in this dark place. The adorable blush warmed her flawless pale complexion perfectly. He took a note of her pouty pink lips, that when moved showed glimpse of her pearly whites. Her glistering emerald eyes followed each of the men as they shifted and shuffled in their seats. He found her captivating._

_Griping the cup of sake in front of him, he quickly finished it off. The alcohol must have been getting to him._

_"But I've never given a blowjob." Sai said in defeat, genuinely upset. The group burst out in laughter. Even Neji caught himself letting out a little chuckle. _

_"Well I'll be damned." Kiba snorted._

_"Really? Awww that's a little disappointing." Naruto mumbled. _

_"No silly," Sakura said, reaching her hand out across the table to pat Sai on the head, "I'm talking about you eating a girl out." _

_"Eating a girl?" Sai asked puzzled, confusion evident on his pale face. Kiba placed a palm on his face, hiding a small laughter, and Naruto just stared wide-eyed at the smiling pink haired woman. Neji finally snapped to look at Sai with far more interest. _

_"I don't get it…" The raven-haired man mumbled, looking terrified at Sakura, "Girls like that? I mean, doesn't it hurt?" _

_Sakura couldn't help but to laugh at his innocence. He was like a little child being told that Santa is not real. Absolutely horrified. She placed both of her knees on her chair, to be able to lean fully across the table and cradle Sai's face in both of her palms. He was so adorable._

_"Sai-kun, trust me if you do it right, the girl will love it," She whispered, "Love you for it." _

_Kiba couldn't help but to watch this woman smile and laugh away. He never in his wildest dreams thought of Sakura as a very sexually open person. He always thought of her as reserved and high maintenance; a woman that only the bravest man would try to conquer. However seeing this flushed Sakura, in a small pair of shorts and a fitted top, leaning over a table, giving him the perfect view of her lean, lithe body as her back arched and her bum was pushed out in the most appealing way, talking to Sai about oral sex, was eye opening for the dog nin. _

_Giving a side-glance to Naruto, he saw that the blond also had his eyes glued to her rear. No surprise there, but he was a little taken back by Neji's subtle gaze as the prodigy's eyes quickly scanned her body. _

_He couldn't lie to himself anymore; he was very attracted to her. _

_"Can you…can you tell how then?" Sai asked in awe, watching Sakura's reaction. The giggly woman just smiled, showing her white teeth happily. _

_"I think it would be better if one of these fine gentleman told you how it's done. You know, to give it to you from the correct perspective." Sakura continued, retreating back to her previous sitting position much to the three disappointed eyes following her, "I can just be here to surveillance so that they don't go too off topic." _

_Sai nodded enthusiastically. Sakura giggled, resting her chin on her palms, leaning on the table. "Well?" she asked expectantly looking between the three remaining man, "Who will it be?"_

_Neji's brows furrowed, Naruto's mouth closed and Kiba just smirked. _

_"Nobody?" Sakura asked in fake shock, "Don't tell me ya'll are shy all of a sudden?" _

_"Sakura, I just think you asked the wrong question." Kiba replied with a smug expression._

_"I did? What is the correct question then?" _

_"Well first of all it should be 'Who has even eaten a girl out here?' That immediately disqualifies Naruto." Kiba shot back, ignoring Naruto's curses. Sakura, now amused watched the dog nin talk. "Then you should ask: 'Who is willing to talk about because they don't have a stick up their ass?' That rules out Neji over here." _

_"We are not all loud mouth idiots, you are right." Neji answered with a stern expression. _

_Sakura smirked, at the Hyuuga genius, who shot Kiba a death glare. _

_"I guess that leaves you Kiba," Sakura leered, crossing her legs. _

_"You guess right." He smiled back. _

_"Alright, okay, genius. Let's go. Tell us." Naruto mumbled annoyed, focusing his attention on the Inuzuka heir, "You talk the talk, now walk the walk."_

_"Sai, eating a girl out is an essential part of sex." Kiba turned to Sai, still smirking, watching Sakura out of the corner of his eye. "It is the easiest way to make sure that she has a mind-blowing orgasm. It is also no secret that if the woman feels pleasure, your pleasure will only be heightened."_

_Sai listened intently, with his jaw slightly opened. Sakura tried to quite her breath so that she could her every word Kiba had to say. _

_"So, once you've moved away from her face and neck, you need to slowly work your way down her shoulders, collarbone, breast, and torso kissing, licking, nipping at every last inch of her, worshipping her body." Kiba spoke directly at Sai, ignoring the other two men, but most certainly remaining aware of Sakura watching him. He pictured how he usually went about when pleasuring a woman. In the picture the woman remained faceless so he could just focus on describing it for Sai. He wanted to highlight every detail, maybe to sound well experienced, which he was, but he knew he really wanted Sakura to hear it the most. _

_Sakura shifted in her seat, uncrossing and crossing her legs again. The alcohol had caused her to feel very warm, but somehow became much hotter._

_"Next grab both of her hands in one of yours, pinning her to he bed. You need to take all the control, make her feel helpless, completely dominated by you. Keep your hips grinding up against her pussy and use your free hand to assist your mouth as you tease every inch of her skin." Kiba continued, not afraid to use crude words as the both the alcohol and adrenaline started pumping through his veins. Her pleasant scent filled his nostrils, as she shifted in her seat, and he could feel it changing._

_"Every part of your body must be working and contributing in order to get her as wet as fucking possible before your mouth even approaches her pussy. Anticipation is key and it makes all the difference. She becomes so desperate, so tense, so pent-up from everything you are doing, and not doing to her the same time that she will be dripping once you do go down." _

_Naruto, engrossed in Kiba's words, did not notice as Sakura licked her suddenly dry lips, but both Neji and Kiba did. _

_"With this free hand you lick your fingers, staring straight into her eyes. The go back to kissing her nipples or neck or collarbone, as your fingers will slowly find their way down and you must work around everywhere but the place she wants you to touch the most. Eventually you'll let go of her hands and move your free hand to her breast, hips and torso instead with my fingers sinking into her beautiful skin, all the while kissing her in every. Your lips and tongue must never stop working. Once your head gets near or in between her legs, you'll probably need to steady her legs, grab her thighs, her hips or ass all while your mouth and tongue are just constantly licking and caressing her hips and stomach slowly, easing your way closer and closer to that heavenly place. Continue this way until you practically there, then let her feel your hot breath against her pussy." Kiba almost chocked on his last word, when he caught the faint scent of arousal coming from the medical ninja across from him. It was the most divine smell he has smelled in a long time, if not ever. It was so very womanly and heavy, and it made him dizzy. His mouth watered, and suddenly the faceless woman appeared to have pink hair, and big, emerald eyes. _

_"Don't make contact with it, just breathe on it." Kiba said carefully, trying to maintain his weakened voice. He started to feel fairly bothered himself as result from his own words and Sakura's smell._

_The kunoichi did not even realize she was staring at the dog nin until she heard his voice crack. 'Weird.' She thought in her hazy state. She was studying his lips as they moved, focusing on his words that were spreading warmth all around her body. She felt shivers down her spine, as she couldn't help but to imagine Kiba doing this to her._

_"Come so very close that she's practically thrusting her hips and clit to your mouth with eagerness. But then you go back up her torso kissing her nipples, squeezing her breast, and attacking her neck and mouth with yours until she grabs onto your shoulders and pushes you back down because of how bad she wants it, and she can no longer take the teasing." The brunette found his voice again, and with the determination to make Sakura complete fall apart, he continued. This was so hot, that he forgot about the other three men at the table, and he instinctively turned his body to face Sakura more than anyone._

_"Press your lips and tongue against the side of her pussy lips, not in between, but on the sides. Finally, now that she's all wet and ready, you take one strong, slow, sudden lick right between her lips." The shinobi spoke slowly, eyeing the young woman's reaction. The smile never left her face, but he could smell the need in her. She wasn't fooling anyone and he loved it. _

_"Then you find the clit Sai." Kiba said with a smug expression, so sensually that Sakura's breath hitched and suddenly the pooling warmth in her lower abdomen became very apparent to her. Her eyes widened as she realized she was wet, very wet and there was no doubt in her mind that the Inuzuka smelled it. That damn dog nose of his could smell everything. The temperature just increased. _

_"Get your fingers wet by rubbing her slit but not entering it… yet. When it comes to actually tonging her clit, flick and suck because that's…. that's what feels good for her." Kiba continued, noticing her change in demeanor. She must have realized his effect on her, and he found it beyond arousing that he noticed her arousal before she did. _

_As you glide your tongue up and down on her clit, take your index and middle finger, slowly slide them into her vagina, and curl the tips of your fingers, and then rub up on the top wall until you feel a spot…about the size of a nickel…that feels sort of spongy." The man smirked at her nervously flickering eyes. She felt embarrassed. That only fueled him on, "Congratulations. You've found the g-spot."_

_Sakura finally turned her face away a little bit, as she could no longer stand him heavy gaze. She thought she was going to die of embarrassment and heat. Naruto just gave her a confused look. He thought this was genius._

_"From here, basically just maintain some sort of a rhythm of motions on the g-spot. Never forget your hands, and your breath that can only add to the effect. That alone will make her have….an amazing orgasm. Once you master this whole technique, you should be able to keep any girl." Kiba chuckled finally turning to look at Sai again, "It can also allow you to make girls squirt, which is absolutely amazing to see." _

_Sakura let out a breath of relief as he finished. The heat between her legs was unbearable. She rubbed her thighs together to relieve some of that tension, and as her tight jean shorts make contact against her soaking core, she allowed her head to fall onto the table as she let out a silent moan. _

_"Sakura-chan?" Naruto yelled, jumping out of his seat and leaning over his best friend, "Are you alright?" His drunken state caused him to lose balance, and in an attempt to break the fall, caused his body to rest on Sakura's form gently, with both of his strong hands on either side of her head on the table. His chest pushing into Sakura's back and his hot breath on her neck. _

_"Wow, Sakura-chan, you are really hot." _

_In whatever way he meant it, Sakura lost her temper when he crushed his body into hers. She was horny and embarrassed, and having a healthy male press into her, and breath into her neck had her all tense._

_"Naruto!" _

_ In a split of a second her fist connected with his jaw and Naruto's lifeless body flew across the entire bar, hitting the wall. He slid to the ground and remained unmoving. _

_The remaining three men just sat there in silence for a moment, both scared and amazed. _

_"Alright, let's call it a night, shall we?" Neji suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. He slowly got up, "Since you are all drunk, I'll take Naruto home." He left taking the blonde's body across his shoulder. _

_Sai did not say a word, as he disappeared in a cloud of white, leaving Kiba and Sakura alone at the table._

_Sakura stared at horror at the grinning dog nin. _

_"Um...bye." She quickly uttered as she awkwardly got up, intending to run off as fast as possible. The kunoichi stood firmly, her feet planted on the wooden floor. She prepared her hands for the teleportation jutsu. _

_"I wouldn't try that, not in that state." Kiba said mischievously, also slowly getting up and making his way towards the shaking woman. She looked up and her knees started shaking. _

_'It's the alcohol. It's the alcohol.' She repeated in her head helplessly, but all she could really think about was how fucking hot Kiba looked with that smile and that subtle flush on his face. _

_"What happened Sakura?" Kiba asked teasingly as he came mere inches from her, she naturally backed up. "What happened to that wildcat talking about blowjobs just a minute ago?" The dog nin sniggered as he watched the kunoichi scatter away from him like a scared mouse. _

_ "__I'm drunk, okay? People always do stupid shit when they are drunk." Sakura mumbled, fiddling her hands nervously. She was almost up against the wall, as she kept retreating from his predatory gaze._

_"Oh? I always thought people's true self comes out when they are drunk." He grinned, finally stopping as Sakura has hit the wall._

_"N-no." the woman stuttered in defense, not meeting his eyes._

_"I like it Sakura. I like when you get violent, aggressive and bad tempered. I like how candid you are and how you don't seem give a shit about anyone's opinion." The tanned man whispered breathlessly, as he leaned into the wonderfully smelling woman in front of him. He rested his forehead against the wall, right above her shoulder. She stilled, afraid she might provoke something. _

_"What are you doing Kiba?" _

_There was a pregnant pause. Sakura listened to his steady breathing. It was loud and deep._

_"Basking in your scent." Kiba felt a surge of confidence and determination. It might have been the alcohol that fueled his actions, but there was something else behind them._

_"Stop playing with me." Sakura breathed out, ignoring at the pleasant tingles running down her body at his words. _

_"I'm not." The dog nin answered, inching closer to her ear. His hot breath caressed her skin._

_"You can't take advantage of me just because I'm drunk."_

_ "__That's the thing, Sakura. I can't. You wouldn't allow me. That's what attracts me so much to you. You don't take shit from anyone." Kiba spoke seriously, with a small on his face. This girl was a firecracker._

_"So you are suddenly attracted to me?" Sakura asked frowing._

_"I'm just finally aware of it." The dog nin replied quickly, taking another deep breath of her scent. Sakura blinked twice before answering in a bare whisper._

_"What do you want?"_

_Kiba chuckled as he shifted closer to speak directly into her ear._

_"You heard what I told Sai..." He said huskily, brushing his lips against her earlobe. "I will do all that, and more."_

_Kiba did not take her to bed that night, but Sakura did put him into a hospital bed for three days._

* * *

_"Go away!" Sakura screamed throwing random documents and books at the persistent shinobi chasing her down the hallways of the Kohona hospital._

_"Sakura…" Kiba grumbled in annoyance at her behavior. He wanted to confront her, tell her how much that night changed things, even thought he was being inappropriate and she did knock him out for days, it made him realize how much she meant to him. _

_"Get out!" The kunoichi yelled, quickly entering her office and slamming the door in his face. Kiba stopped, frowning at the obstacle. He looked back down the hall to see everyone staring at him, complete ignoring their previous tasks. He gave a dirty look before returning his attention on the door in front of him._

_"We need to talk." He spoke loudly against the wooden surface. There was a momentary pause, and a shuffling of papers before he heard a clear reply._

_"No. We. Do. Not." _

_"So what? You are going to ignore me from now on?" Kiba growled running a hand through his messy lock. He was not a patient man, and if he wanted something he would generally get it._

_"No…just avoid you."_

_Kiba rolled his eyes._

_"Sakura-"_

_"Oh my god, go bother someone else." Sakura slammed the door open violently fixating her flaming eyes on him._

_"I don't want someone else. I want-"_

_"Don't say it!" The pink haired woman shriek in horror, her eyes widening. She was breathing hard, her face red and her eyes bright. Kiba's gaze hardened, he wasn't sure if she honestly did not want to hear it. She knew what he was going to say; she knew it all along._

_"I want you."_

* * *

_"__Kiba…" Sakura sighed, letting her forehead press against his chiseled chest. She closed her eyes, listening to his strong heartbeat. It was beautiful._

_ "__Sakura, what are you doing?" Kiba asked, his voice straining. She shouldn't be this close, she smelled too good. She was supposed to be angry, she said she didn't want him. She shot him down last time he told her that he wanted her._

_"I can't do this." She suddenly whispered, her voice muffled by Kiba's shirt. The brunette felt himself shiver, as the vibrations of her voice ran through his entire body. _

_ "__What?" He breathed out, trying to control his breathing._

_ "__I can't stay away from you."_

_Kiba felt his face burn, as sweat rolled down his forehead. Of course, she would say something like that. She'd say it while he is this troubled, torn and horny. He wanted throw her against that damn wall, and take her, finally. He wanted to finally feel her around him. He was actually quite confident that he has never wanted a woman more than he wanted Sakura now. _

_He just had to calm himself. _

_"Oh?" _

_"And there is another problem." _

_Her voice was very quiet, barely audible above the loud music, but still heard even through he closed door. It's been a week since he has pursued her in the hospital, and she had avoided him since, but now they've both found themselves at yet another party where they could not longer ignore each other. He suddenly felt her small, feminine hands clutch at his shirt painfully._

_Kiba closed his eyes. No more problems, please._

_"I don't want to." _

_Finally._

* * *

_ "__Do you realllyyyy like me?" The young woman pouted like a child, fixating her large green eyes on the man next to her. He was currently devouring a bowl of pork ramen. It was almost midnight, and the ramen shop was the only place still open, and still willing to cook up a meal for the two shinobi._

_"Umm no." Kiba answered, seemingly uninterested as he slurred noodles eagerly from his bowl. Sakura's jaw flew open as she slammed her own bowl on the counter loudly. He had picked her up after her late shift in the hospital, third time this week alone. He had been so sweet and attentive. Even if he had just come back from a mission, he would always show up. They would often proceed to fool around a bit in her office, since he never seemed to get enough of her. This was all done in secret of course, as none of their friends yet knew they fancied each other. It had been almost a month since Sakura has given in, and things were going good, without anyone knowing about them, however Sakura was still confused as to what they actually were._

_The pink haired woman just wanted to know how he really felt, surely the infamous playboy wouldn't waste this much time on one girl for no reason. She just wanted to hear him say something that would actually cement their relationship, but instead he has to be an asshole. Well then so could she. _

_The woman stood up, throwing couple of bills on the counter intending to leave dramatically. The dog nin just rolled his eyes, and grabbed her forearm in his callous hand, pushing her back down onto the stool._

_"Oh my god, you silly girl, of course I do." He said with a smile at her adorable outburst. _

_"Hmpf!" Sakura just flipped her hair arrogantly, but settled back down anyway. _

_"Sakura." Kiba said suddenly, very seriously. She continued to ignore him, crossing her arms across her chest childishly. _

_"Look at me," He asked, but she did not budge. "Sakura please, look at me." He pleaded with a slightly angry tone. She turned to him slightly. Her brows furrowed in question at his wide grin._

_"Will you be my girlfriend?" He took her hands in his, observing them closely. They were so small and delicate, especially compared to his. He was fascinated at how much more damage they could do then his own. This woman was a wonder. He looked up to see her face in awe._

_"Whoa, wait, like official?" She looked positively confused. Kiba stilled for a moment, did she not want him like that?_

_"Yes…" He said slowly, observing her._

_"Like, like…like no seeing other people?" She asked breathlessly, her confusing turning into excitement. Anger flared in the dog nin. She was never allowed to see other people, ever, as long as she was his. What a stupid question. _

_"Of course, what the hell?!" He glared at her._

_"But you also can't see other people." Sakura pouted again, and Kiba's eyes fell to her inviting lips. _

_"Why would I want to?" He asked absent-mindedly, whole engrossed in her presence. Where has this obsession come from? The past month has been beyond amazing for the Inuzuka heir. He couldn't understand how someone like Sakura, a woman he knew for so long, could spark such a fire within him out of nowhere. He regretted not noticing her sooner._

_"I don't know…you always have lots of girls around you."_

_Kiba smirked, stroking her petite hands, enjoying the feel of her soft skin. Surely if someone saw them now, they would no longer need to tell themselves. It would spread like forest fire. _

_"See? That should make you feel even more special, out of all the fine ladies in Kohona I choose you."_

_"That was borderline romantic, but still sounded as if I was your Pokémon or something." Sakura said sourly, inching closer to the man caressing her hands oh so gently. It was surprisingly arousing because she knew just how rough Kiba could get. _

_"Do you want to be? I mean like role-play, you know? Well not a Pokémon, really but you would make the perfect sexy nurse Joy."_

_"I think we should take a break." The medic nin uttered jokingly, slipping her hands out of his, and wrapping them around his neck, while bringing her entire body closer to his. _

_"Ah baby, you have no idea what you are in for." Kiba said smugly as he pulled the petite woman to him, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. _

* * *

**_Present_**

Kiba froze at the sight. After the destruction of the Kohona hospital, the council has decided to appoint an old grey building near the Hokage's tower that used to be an old inn but even that function has been revoked. The council had doubts about rebuilding the hospital at the same place, superstition and worries of any set traps left behind. The council underwent an endless search for an area in the village that was both large enough and accessible to host the hospital, but so far no luck. This old structure was apparently a second choice, they first planned to use one of the many Uchiha estates that were left abandoned for decades now, but the one Uchiha left behind would not allow so.

It really was a revolting building and Kiba felt his stomach fall to the ground. This was no place for the injured. He had no idea why Sasuke would be so hardheaded about his home. There were people dying, and the least he could do was just allow them to fight for their life with some dignity. Nevertheless he moved towards the entrance, the lack of the familiar scent worried him, surely he should be able to smell her now.

He made his way inside. There weren't many people. In fact most of the people in the hallways were civilians, sitting on the wooden benches quietly. There was a crying mother on the very end of the hall, her cries the only sign of life in this place. Kiba cringed and made his way to the 'reception' which really was just an old desk with a small blonde woman, in the nurse's uniform.

He wondered if she was one of the lucky survivors or a new recruit. Apparently out of the lack of skilled nurses and doctors, the medical department had to promote many young apprentices to higher position to fill out the minimum needed. Shizune has been appointed as the temporary Chief Medical Shinobi, Tsume has told Kiba, while Sakura was in coma.

"I'm looking for Haruno Sakura."

The young woman perked up from whatever she was doing and set her sight on Kiba. She blushed and started fiddling around nervously in her messy paperwork on the table.

"Umm..yea sure..sure Haruno-san..she's…she is here I mean, of course she is." She mumbled in panic, evidently unable to find a paper she was looking for, "I-I just need y-you to…to sign the vi-visitors form…b-but I cannot seem to f-find it."

"Look that's okay, I'm close to her. Just tell me which floor?" Kiba said gently, not wanting to scare the meek girl.

"Oh, I can't do-do that w-without the f-form." She answered, clutching some random papers anxiously. Kiba understood she was probably new, he understood that he probably looked scary or she heard the rumors, maybe she was a friend of Kirume, but he couldn't keep his anger at check at the moment.

"Look," He grunted loudly, grabbing the sides of her wooden desk. The girl jumped out of her seat out of fear. "You will tell me where she is, or I will-"

"Do what? Kill her?"

Kiba snapped his head to the strong feminine voice behind him. There was Tsunade standing with one hand on her hips, and an annoyed expression.

'Great.' Kiba mumbled to himself.

"I'm here to see Sakura, no matter what. You can't stop me Tsunade-sama." He spoke, turning around fully to face the powerful woman. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what makes you think I would try to stop you?"

"So you will just let me through?" Kiba asked trying to hide his surprise.

"I cannot really threaten you with anything now, can I Kiba? She has already been taken from you." The blonde said, watching the dog nin intently. He stiffened, suddenly aware of the few pairs of eyes staring at them.

"Come."

She turned around, and he followed her silently, like a lost puppy.

"Here." She finally stopped at the desired door. "She's in coma. Don't touch her, we still cannot understand fully the effects of the poison." She said, as she turned to walk away.

"Wait, I don't understand." Kiba suddenly said, stopping the blonde in her tracks. "How is it that you, the Slug Princess, cannot cure a poison? And one that Sakura had cured before on top of that!?"

The Hokage paused, staring at the dog nin with great intensity. She licked her lips before speaking.

"Sakura has surpassed me as medical ninja a long time ago, especially when it comes to poison work. This was poison is far beyond my caliber; in fact I think she would have trouble with it if she was conscious. It has been improved from the time she had cured it in your cousin. All her research and antidote samples have been lost in the hospital when it was destroyed, so we had to start from scratch." She said evenly, as if lecturing the shinobi in front of her. Kiba clenched his fists.

"Trust me Kiba, we are working, the entire poison department, or what is left of it has been working non-stop on this damn antidote. The poison is somehow changing its structure day by day, so every time we think we have achieved something, it is useless. I have never seen anything like this. The attackers knew whom they were dealing with." She continued slowly, noticing Kiba's enraged state.

"It's actually a surprise Sakura has survived this long with the poison in her body, it seems that she is healing herself from the inside."

Kiba's fists relaxed, but his gaze hardened in interest.

"She is healing herself in her coma?"

"Her medical chakra is so advanced, it almost has a mind of its own. There is no way she can be controlling it, she is unconscious, but somehow her own chakra is fighting the poison. We have done some checks, and it seems that the chakra has created protective cocoons around her brain, heart, kidneys and liver."

"How long do you think she can keep it up? I mean surely it must take up a lot of chakra." The dog nin retaliated, concern for the young woman emerging.

"It does, so we have connected her to an artificial chakra supply. At the moment, her own skill is our best shot at saving her. She is buying us more time." Tsume claimed, placing a hand on her hip again.

"But-"

"Kiba please, this is my apprentice. She is not going down that easy. Worst comes to worse, she still has her Yin Seal. Trust me, I know her, she's a fighter." She said finally, determined and turned to leave.

Kiba sighed, but watched Tsunade retreat nevertheless.

He looked behind him, at the door leading him to Sakura and wished for the best as he slowly entered. Upon first inspection the room was large, probably what used to be a most expensive room in the inn, however much like rest of the place it was old and run down. There was only one small window emitting little light into the room.

The space was bare, with only various medical equipment and machines surrounding the bed against one of the walls of the room. There was also a small bedside table closest to Kiba. He noticed various flower bouquets, instant cup ramen, cards and little boxes wrapped up in bows. Obviously every Sakura's friend has contributed something to wish her good recovery. Kiba cringed at the sight, he should have been here sooner, and he should have been here first brining her flowers or damn ramen.

The constant beeping sound indicating her steady heartbeat brought Kiba back, as he frantically searched for Sakura in the white sheet. He could barely see her small frame, but the tuff of faded pink hair peaking out of the messy sheet caught his attention. Her face was turned to the opposite side. Her body remained lifeless as he came closer. He noticed multiple needles stuck to her forearms that were connected to a peculiar white machine on the side of the bed.

'Must be the chakra supply.' Kiba thought as he finally came close enough to hover over her entire form. He gulped at the sight because the woman below him looked nothing like the Sakura he knew.

First of all, her scent was fainted, completely dull. It was like attempting to smell water. The little of it that he could distinguish smelled old and stale, and blended easily into the 'hospital'. Her face was drained of any color, and was picking up a sickly blue tint that Kiba knew was in no way normal. Her hair has lost is brilliant shine and color, and just laid dead on her head. He could see her cracked lips, her dry skin, and her frightening skinny arms. She looked dead, if it wasn't for the subtle rise in her chest and the constant beeping of the machine monitoring her heartbeat, Kiba would be convinced she was.

"Sakura." He croaked, his breath catching in his throat. Seeing her like this made it hard for him to breathe. Seeing her like this, made it hard to talk, or to think. In fact, seeing her like this made him want to give his own life just to replenish hers.

He felt his eyes burn and his knees weekend, as he fell to the ground, kneeling by her side helplessly. He pressed his forehead against the side of the cold bed and listened. Listened for any sign of life beside that damn machine. Keeping his head down, he moved his hand carefully towards hers. Tracing his large fingers as gently as possible over hers, lightly grazing her skin. It was so cold. It wasn't Sakura.

The constricting pains in his heart made him want to tear that damn organ out. This wasn't love this was pure torture. He didn't love her; he knew that. She was just part of him, that was the problem, and that part was dying at the moment.

His skimming fingers finally slipped in-between hers, and his entire hand clutched her rigid palm. He kept his eyes closed, and pretended that the hand he was holding was holding him back.

The dog nin's eyes suddenly snapped open when he felt _something_. It was the faintest motion, the smallest movement of muscle, but he felt it. Her hand twitched in his. His head shot up in alert, focusing on her face. Still dead, but Kiba knew better.

"Sakura?"

Nothing.

"Sakura?"

Nothing.

"Sakura?!"

Nothing at all.

"Sakura, are you there? Can you hear me?" Kiba persisted, now bruising her hand out of desperation.

"Please, I know it hurts, I know you are weak but please…" The dog nin sobbed. "Please if you can hear me, do something." He was losing his mind maybe, "Do that again!"

Kiba's forehead fell against the bed again helplessly.

"Please, please. I know I am late, I should have been here a weak ago. I should have protected you, it's all my fault. But please, please!"

Then he felt it again. She was still there somewhere, still fighting.

"Sakura!" He exclaimed coming up again. He cradled her hand in his lovingly.

"I have so much to tell you Sakura, so much to apologize for. I don't want to strain you now that you are under so much pain, but I need you to know that I will explain everything. I never should have gotten you involved, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have gotten this damn title of yours, and you wouldn't be ambushed and lying on your death bed."

"I failed to protect you." He whispered, eyes fixated on her face. She looked like a rag doll, "But I have faith in you, we all do. You are a fighter, Sakura. You ar-"

Without a warning the rhythm from the machine turned into a one continuous beep.

...

...

...

* * *

_**Beta'd by the lovely Victoblerone. Thank you girl!**_

_**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just to clarify, incase someone speculates over that last line. Sakura DID just die. **_

_**Read & review please. **_


	9. The Spark That Never Lit

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **_

* * *

**Blame it on Youth**

**Chapter 9: The Spark That Never Lit**

* * *

The only thing that Kiba Inuzuka could comprehend as he walked down the muddy path, following the masses of people, all dressed in black, was that it was wrong.

Everything was _so_ fucking wrong.

He stopped, letting the crowds of people push past him hurriedly. He ignored their grunts and voiced complaints, and just stood there, looking up at the sky. The angry grey clouds stared back in annoyance, as they sent out millions of persistent little cool drops that mischievously clung on his face, and attempted to slide into the warmth of his collar.

He stood there for a moment before a familiar chakra stopped to stand next to him, hands in his pocket.

"Perfect weather for this day, huh?" He heard Naruto says softly, above the pattering rain and the noisy swarm of mourners.

Kiba couldn't help but to smile at this. It _was_ the most fucking perfect weather for this day. He could let his tears stream freely down his face, mixing them with the cool rain, as they washed down into the ground perishing in the soil.

Kiba Inuzuka promised himself that he would only cry once for the death of Sakura Haruno, before he'd carry out his revenge.

* * *

Sakura Haruno was a girl of many flaws. Aside from her large forehead and small breasts, she was very bad tempered, selfish, loud, irritating, stubborn and too work oriented. She never trusted the people that cared the most, and seemed to naively depend on the people that did not at all. She was unfair, and often based her decisions on emotions, rather than logic. Yet, she was considered to be one of the brightest of her generation.

If her life was really that much of a joke, why has Tsunade never heard the punch line?

The blonde cracked one eye open, to stare at the pathetic piece of paper, lying soundly on her desk. She could barely make out the large title of the document, written in bulky, black font. Her vision was blurry, clouded with the pain she was so afraid to show as the Hokage.

She had just lost her pupil. Her legacy. Her daughter.

Yes, there were worst things in life. The war has killed thousands. Diseases and violence kill everyday. However, somehow the deaths Tsunade managed to live through were all tragic.

The woman gritted her teeth, as she closed her eyes again, but stretched her body upwards, sitting rigidly in her chair. First her brother perished, then her lover died in her arms, then her best friend passed despite his promise of return and now Sakura? She died in her very own fucking hospital. Surely this wasn't justice; this was a bet.

A very bad bet that Tsunade kept loosing.

A soft knock woke the Hokage from her downy thoughts.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune spoke gently, as her head peaked from behind the half closed doors. "Are you done?"

"Done?" Tsunade answered wearily.

"With the report on…Sakura Haruno."

The words stung, and Tsunade almost jerked back in an attempt to stop the pain surging through her. She was a strong woman, mentally and physically but she could not deny that even her stone heart, has been cracked. Death of her brother, her lover, her best friend have all induced painful hits on the guard she has created years before she even knew she would need one.

It was the past deaths that have cracked her hard shell, but Sakura's has pushed the reality of everything further into Tsunade's soul. This wasn't a war zone, nor a S-rank mission. This was jut goddamn life.

"It's here, done." Tsunade lied, as she snatched the damp form in front of her, on the desk, and shoved it into Shizune's awaiting arms.

The woman scanned the empty document quickly. She smiled.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama."

The blonde propped her forehead on the palm of her hand as the click of the closed doors echoed throughout the empty room.

"You have failed me, Sakura."

* * *

"No!" Ino shrieked, clawing at Chouji's back. "Le me go! Let me at him! Let me at him right fucking now!"

All people have different methods of dealing with sorrow, with loss. Some cry, some remain stoic, some acknowledge the sadness with some kind of light, others become nostalgic. Then there are some who refuse to deal with it at all, they cry as well, they yell, they argue but mainly they put the blame on others.

Shikamaru knew this was Ino, this was how she dealt with pain. She did all the things any typical human who refused to accept loss would do, but that was just the basis of her being. She was vicious, violent and volatile. The pain she felt, would never remain hidden, or suppressed, it only fueled her on to act violently and aggressively.

Currently the blonde woman was hoisted across Chouji's shoulder, as she crawled and growled furiously at the man sitting in the center of the room. They were in a small white room, situated in the Interrogation Department building, surrounded by numerous gawking shinobi, who were all too stunned by the woman's sudden outbreak.

As the Interrogation team has been hard at work, for the past week trying to crack the how, why and who behind the attack on the Medical Department of Kohona. After the terrifying turn of events, especially death of the Chief Medical Shinobi, her best friend, the deputy head of Interrogation of Kohona, has lost it.

"You little scum, in the name of law I will fucking kill you!" Ino cursed loudly, while elbowing Chouji in the head, trying to escape his grasp. Her source of anger just sat calmly in the chair, hands stiffly by his side, and a sick smirk on his face.

"I don't know what you saw in there, but I did nothing wrong." He spoke gently.

"Like hell! Your mind is filled with high level seals and boobie traps. You are guilty!" The blonde yelled, as she finally managed to slip from Chouji's grasp, and hurled herself at the sitting man. She kneed him in the stomach swiftly, his body moving backwards from the impact, and his head falling to the side. She immediately grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and fumed into this face.

"Spill it," Ino glared, her usually bright baby blue eyes on fire, "Sai."

His face remained passive, and mouth silent. The sudden water droplet echoed in the room and everyone fell silent.

Every single shinobi in the room, became all too aware of the fact that the Deputy Head of Interrogation was talking through a stream of hot tears, now running down hear face.

Ino kept her gaze hard and cold, but her mouth started to quiver. Just looking at him, the man that had become one of the primed suspects from the very start, made Ino's inside wobble and her heart ache. Her best friend had left her. She had left her without a notice, left her alone in this sick, foreboding world with people like this one in front of her. Now smiling tauntingly at her.

She frowned at his expression.

"You're pathetic, Ino-san."

Something inside the blonde snapped, and she roughly jabbed two fingers against his temple. Sai's expression went blank, and his head fell limply against his shoulder.

"Yamanka-san!"

"He's fine!" Ino growled, turning back to look at the shinobi that spoke at her. "It's not him. I know Sai, this is Sai, but he isn't the one we are looking for!" Ino continued angrily, moving away from Sai' now lifeless body.

"You are all useless! Bringing him here, building my hope….For fuck's sake!? What have you all been doing this past week?" Ino screamed in fury, as she flew past everyone towards the door of the small interrogation room, "I have to do everything here by myself!"

The door slammed, and the room fell silent. Shikamaru pulled his cigarette out of his mouth an sighed, watching the grey smoke gather lazily in front of him.

"Why did you bring Sai here?" The genius asked calmly, his eyes travelling slowly to the two men who have pushed Sai into the room just 20 minutes ago, demanding questioning, as they claimed he was the one behind the attack on the village and the Chief Medical Shinobi.

"H-h-he was m-making jokes a-about H-h-haruno-o-s-s-an's death….!" The shorter one blurted out quickly, "We thought that was, well, damn well suspicious!" The other one continued, sensing his friend's struggle.

"Idiots. This is Sai. His jokes are about as honest as the fire is cold." Shikamaru grunted, taking another drag, and exhaling deeply.

"But-but his mind! Yamanka-san said it herself, filled with traps and seals-"

"Sai is not innocent, that's for sure, but he has absolutely nothing to do with this incident." The brunette answered back annoyed, "Get out."

The frightened pair immediately scattered out of the room, leaving the two male ex-members of team 10 in the room.

"Shika…." Chouji whimpered.

"Yes, Chouji?" Shikamaru did not turn to look at him.

"What do we do now? Ino's not gonna go."

"Not gonna go? You think she won't go to her best friend's funeral?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his bestfriend.

"Well yea, I mean it would be too painful."

"Chouji, don't act like you don't know her. Ino is damn well going go, in fact she will cause a ruckus over there as well if anything."

Chouji frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Because she knows that Sakura would rip her hair out if she did not make her funeral the most memorable one."

* * *

"We are gathered here on this rainy day to honor an exceptional woman, outstanding shinobi, diligent friend and a fundamental part of our village. Sakura Haruno was part of the infamous Kohona 9 legacy; an exceptional talent in her field and without the doubt a symbol of the will of fire. The world is sad to see her pass on, however we must remember that we are here to honor her existence, and to engrave her memory into the stone of her grave, as well as our hearts. "

Tsunade spoke loudly, addressing the mass of people that have come to express their condolences for the death of her bellowed apprentice.

The irony in this entire funeral was that, it was the perfect replica of the Third's funeral, just 10 years ago. The day was just as rainy, but Tsunade did not attend that day. She wondered how it would seem if she didn't attend this one either.

As a Hokage she did not have the duty to perform this ceremony, but it was no secret to the village that The Fifth saw Sakura as more than her student.

The blonde woman did not dare to even lower her eyes or allow a frown to form on her deceitfully youthful face. She continued her well-prepared speech, with just a small indication of emotion.

"I would now like to ask everyone for a moment of silence for the passing of Sakura Haruno."

The rain's pattering became the rhythm of the silence. Kiba kept his head low, staring at the ground. The entire village must have been here. Did they all have nothing better to do?

The Inuzuka heir lifted his head, and fixed his gaze at the woman in front. Tsunade was standing in the middle of a marble podium leading to the entrance into the village's main temple. Sakura's body was in a casket that was situated in the middle of the stone floor, covered by a white sheet.

Behind her body, was a broad ornamented stone table. Its expanse held numerous scrolls and in the center of the table, and propped on a crimson pillow was a picture of Sakura. It was the one taken formally, and placed on all her official documents.

It was so pathetic.

"Fuck this!" Kiba roared above the slashing rain. All eyes fell on him, but Tsunade's gaze stung the most.

"Kiba?"

"Shhh!"

"What the hell?"

The numerous chattering and questions from the crowd reached his ears, but all he could focus on was the face Tsunade showed him. She wasn't angry nor was she surprised. She just stared at him.

"There is someone in this very crowd responsible for her death and we are here just honoring her with them?!"

"Inuzuka I'm warning you-" The Hokage began, wiping her left cheek with a sleeve of her coat. The rain has soaked her entire form already, wiping one cheek was as pointless as she found Kiba's outbreak right now.

"I am warning you! You! Whoever it is that allowed this to happen." Kiba continued mindlessly, moving from his spot and pushing through the crowd, pointing his fingers aggressively at anyone who looked at him. "Come out, and face me like a man!"

"Kiba?"

"Kiba-kun…"

"Kiba!"

The dog nin stopped, when he reached the front of the crowd. He was mere meters away from the Hokage now. Seeing her up close, he realized how dreadfully tired she looked. Her skin was sickly pale and the bags under her eyes were very prominent. Above all this, it was still her eyes that gave away her real age.

"Please, everyone, join in me in this moment of silence." Tsunade closed her eyes, not finding the strength to tackle the Inuzuka's complaints. Everyone once again, fell quiet, but did not take their eyes of the man in front, who now was huffing and puffing. The rain slid mockingly down his face, and somehow cooled his heated state.

The silence was momentary disturbed by numerous heavy, angry steps. Tsunade sighed, her eyes still closed, as she felt the presence of two distinct chakra signatures disappear.

'That boy causes you trouble even after your death, Sakura. You really know how to pick them.'

* * *

"Kiba! Wait up!"

"Go away." Kiba growled at the all-too-familiar voice chasing him down the stone path, away from the ceremony. He needed to get the hell out of here.

"Kiba, listen to me! You're doing it wrong!" The blond persisted as he finally caught up to the agitated man ahead of him. He reached for his arm, only to have Kiba flung it away violently.

"Wrong?" He snapped, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Naruto.

Naruto huffed and his gaze hardened. "This is no way to mourn for Sakura."

"I'm not mourning, Naruto. I'm just trying to contain my anger."

"Well you are doing that wrong too!" The blond threw his hands air in frustration. "This moment. This very, very part of your life is not about you. It's about Sakura, and her memory. This is the time you need to put aside your own fury and rage, and juts focus on her."

"Naruto, how-" Kiba paused, trying to fabricate the correct question, "How can you feel like that?"

"Trust me, Kiba. If it weren't for the memory of her smile, and her sparking eyes as she laughed, the Kyuubi would have torn down the village ages ago." Naruto spoke with an almost-smile plastered on his face.

"I guess you grew up a lot more than I did."

"No. I just think I've had a lot more experience with this." Naruto looked up, starching the back of his head, "With losing people closest to you."

Kiba made a face. "That's sad."

"I think what's sadder is that even after all the deaths I've witnessed, experienced and caused, I still cannot really control my emotions."

"Yeah…Sakura always talked about that. She always said how it was fucking annoying since you were meant to be this 'great' shinobi, best of our time, yet you cried like a little bitch every time someone died." The brunette shoved his hands in his pocket, and slouched, feeling somewhat relaxed and comforted by the topic.

He continued, "Ironically, of course she was telling me this while she was crying to me, after having lost a patient in a hospital. She really was too human for this life."

There was a pause, where both men lost themselves in thought. Naruto was the first one to break the silence.

"She was perfect." He uttered, finally allowing the corners of his mouth to genuinely rise in a warm smile. Kiba couldn't help but to feel at ease by this.

"Why did we fight, Naruto? I mean yeah, because of Sakura, but really for what purpose?" The man laughed. "I feel like we are the same person sometimes."

"I guess it's because we are so similar." Naruto replied, enthusiastically "And we both wanted the same girl. Girl you got in the end. I suppose I couldn't admit defeat." He shrugged.

"You told me she was in love with me. But I can tell you that she was in love with you too."

"You can love two people, but you can't be in love with two people."

There was another silence, this time it wasn't as comfortable.

"So what now? We just lie in our sorrow?" Kiba sliced the awkward air, hoping a change in topic would lessen the sudden tension. It also made his problems come back, and he was angry again.

"Tonight we mourn. Tomorrow we should show respect when her body is cremated."

Kiba cringed. "Cremated? Sakura is going to be cremated?"

"She explicitly told Tsunade she wanted her body to be cremated after death." Naruto frowned in thought. "It's a medical ninja thing apparently, and plus…after Orochimaru's resurrection jutsu, powerful shinobi are rarely just buried. It's too dangerous."

"She really will be gone forever."

"She will never be gone, Kiba, you know that."

Kiba fisted his palms.

"I'm not okay with this, and I never will be. Someone has to pay."

"They will. Together, we'll take our revenge."

* * *

"Ah! Faggots, there you are!" Ino shrieked, throwing her hand around Shikamaru's neck for support, as she wobbled to join the group of man standing by the entrance of the giant hall, where the memorial service was taking place. The blonde, drink in hand, had obviously already had too many to be in shape for friendly chatter.

"Just as radiant as always, Ino." Kiba replied dryly, having just entered the hall with Naruto, after their little talk. He honestly felt comforted by man, and allowed him to drag him back to at least attend the memorial service. However, the wasted woman in front of him, was not something he'd expect in a place like this. Ino really had the worst ways of dealing with pain.

"Oh boo-hoo! Did I hurt your feelings asswipe? Cause as far as I'm concerned the only person that is hurt here is Sakura! You know why? Cause she is _dead-"_

"Okay Ino-chan. Enough sake for you." Chouji interrupted the screaming woman, snatching the dainty cup from her grasp. Ino pouted in annoyance.

"I'll take her home." Shikamaru offered, taking a hold of Ino's arm wrapped around his neck and pulled her closer to him, to get more control over her movements.

"Home?! Do I look like I wanna go home?" Ino slurred, her head falling lifelessly against Shikamaru's shoulder.

"It would be the best thing right now for all of us if-"

"Ohhhh! Us? If you wanted to take me home to just fuck me, you could've just said so! Thought I do not enjoy pity fucks." Ino bursted out dramatically, trying to pull away from the man's grasp. Finding her efforts futile in this state, she slouched back up against him.

"I must have been an awful person in my past life." The genius murmured under his breath, throwing the enraged woman across his shoulder with ease. The rest of the group gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Have fun."

"Ohhhhh we will!" Ino yelled as Shikamaru made a dash for the door.

The three remaining man fell silent. Kiba observed the hall, filled with what must have been hundreds of people, all dressed in black, drink in hand, murmuring to each other quietly.

"So….this is akward." Naruto snapped, out of nowhere, his hand on his hips.

"Awkward? It's disappointing. People shouldn't be drinking and chattering they should be investigating! For fuck's sake we still don't know what the fuck happened!" The brunette responded, feeling provoked by the display in front of this. Everyone was here, wasting time for pointless social interactions.

"Kiba. Remember what I told you." Naruto replied calmly, placing his hand on Kiba's shoulder.

"I know. I know." The dog nin sighed. "I just wish there was something I could do."

"Kiba-kun."

The man snapped his head to the side, and his eyes widened as his gaze fell on the petite woman in front of him.

"Hinata."

The pale woman gave him a small smile, before she sweetly asked.

"Can we talk?"

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Kiba-kun." Hinata spoke meekly, but her eyes fixated firmly on his face. The couple had moved out of the large hall, to the quiet corridor outside to talk in private.

"Yeah…so am I."

"I wish there was something I could do…" She continued, with a doleful tone, "Kiba-kun you can count on me. I will help you. We will find this person, and you will get your revenge."

Kiba glared at her.

"What is it?"

"What are you doing?"

"What?" Hinata took a step back instinctively, feeling his sudden fury.

"Why, Hinata? Don't you think it would be strange?"

"Strange? Kiba-kun, I'm sorry but I don't think I know what you are talking about…"

"Look Hinata, I love you. You are so important to me, but honestly right now I can't even look at you." Kiba placed one hand on his hip, while he ran the other throught his hair, trying to maintain his composure. "God…It's not your fault. Really…but I can't just be with you right now. Sakura just died, just give me a moment to breathe. I can't take you as my mate right now, I need some time, I-"

"Kiba-kun. What are _you _talking?" Hinata retorted, with much more confidence.

"How can-ughhh." Kiba paused and closed his eyes. "Listen, possibly the love of my life just died, and now the woman who basically is the reason that I could have never told her that in the first place is offering her help in getting revenge for her death. Don't you think it's a little messed up?"

Hinata pursed her lips.

"I'm the woman?"

"Well it's not Naruto."

"I may be wrong….but what are you talking about?"

"The arranged marriage? The blood bound? The mate for life thing? Are you even Hinata?" Kiba barked at her. Did the village come together this morning and planned to provoke the fuck out of him the entire day?

"Okay, I can get on board with the arranged marriage, but the rest is Yiddish to me…" Hinata exhaled in desperation, shrugging her shoulder and crossing her arms below her breasts.

"Oh, okay. So not only was I not informed of until like a month ago about this, and not only did my ex-girlfriend just die, but also the woman that I am meant to mate has no idea that that's happening…I think this very well may be the worst day of my life."

"Mate?" The midnight blue haired girl raised her eyebrow.

"You're my mate!" Kiba almost screamed at her, pointing his index finger at her comically.

Hinata's pearl eyes widened, as she squeaked" "As in…the Inuzuka alpha mate?!"

"Yes! You are my blood bound! We are suppose to mate within one week-"

"Hold your horses, Kiba-kun. I am nobody's mate." The woman raised her hand in defense.

"What? Yes you are! Mother showed me the scroll, you are my blood bound." Kiba protested. Sensing Hinata was about to object, he interrupted her swiftly. "And don't say anything because you know about marriage, so you must know about the mate thing!"

"I admit. I know that we arranged to get married, but that's not happening. And I have no idea how I can be your mate, since you already have one, or had one since I can remember?"

"What are _you _talking about!"

"I know our parents arranged marriage between our clans, but I also know it's not happening."

"It's not?" Kiba asked in disbelief. Hinata sighed, scanning the corridor as if for help.

"No! You have a mate that was a problem from the beginning. You should know that, it's part of your heritage! Also I told my father I am not going through it, I'm in love with someone else. This agreement was formed when we were babies, but things changed. I talked with my father almost a year ago, he agreed it was not necessary. I was under the impression the message was spread to you too!"

Kiba's jaw flew open. "I didn't even know about this 'agreement' until like a month ago!"

"What? How? When-What?!" The young woman threw her arms up in the air.

"I'm little surprised! My mother is very much serious about it!"

"But Tsume should know better! How can she be going against her own traditions?"

"What?"

"You already have a mate!" Hinata repeated her previous statement, with much determination. Kiba paused.

"I do?" He heard himself, and he sounded terrified.

"You don't kn…?" Hinata gave Kiba a look of pure pity. Her eyes were wide open and shaking. Suddenly that look of pity turned into pure horror as realization hit her. "Oh no."

"Hinata! Hinata what is it?" The dog nin demanded violently, grabbing the woman in front of him by her shoulders, just in case she decided to run.

"They never told you…" The heiress exhaled. "I thought you knew…Oh no. I should've…and now…" She was completely ignoring him, averting her gaze, speaking to herself more than anyone. Her mind spinning but her tongue tied.

"Hinata! You have to start talking." Kiba desperately barked at her, shaking her small frame.

"Kiba. Sakura's your mate. She has been all along."

Kiba did not miss a beat. His nose cringed.

"What?"

"It all makes sense. How could I not see it?" Hinata gasped in complete awe. Her eyes were still wide open in shock and realization, but were not focused on him. She was still not conversing with him! Simply talking to herself.

"Seriously Hinata, tell me!"

Hinata snapped her head, to face him. Her gaze hard. The dog nin crocked his head.

"Okay, listen." She inhaled.

"I have this memory. It's cloudy and blurry, but somehow it's always there. I think I was about 5 years old, because Hanabi just turned 2, and father declared her superiority over me. She was declared as the next heir for the head of the clan, while I was pushed to the side. It was a strange period of time, because I went from being the center of attention in the household, to being just an overlooked rag doll. I remember my father would look at me, and sigh, as if he had nothing else to do."

Kiba listened intently to her words. She was speaking slowly, and clearly. It was as if she was narrating a fantastic tale, usually told to children before bed. Even thought she spoke with pity laced in her words, her tone was upbeat, and plainly informative. Kiba found this somehow discomforting. He knew of the thought life she has faced as a Hyuuga, but at the same time he never liked to talk about it, nor console her. He didn't find it necessary or appropriate, and Hinata did not either. This was therefore strange to hear from her mouth.

"Then one day, when I was hiding in the family garden, crying, feeling sorry for myself and alone, pathetically like I usually did then, I spotted my father talking to another man. I don't remember what they said exactly, but it's a conversation I could never forget. The man spoke about you Kiba. He kept mentioning your name, saying you were in trouble." She paused, feeling slightly out of breath. The last couple of sentences made her jumpy. Kiba leaned it. "That you did something bad, and that he needeed to help you, help you fix it. That he needed my father's help. Again, I don't know what my father said, but I know he kept saying my name, that's he only thing I remember."

She paused, he nodded.

"Over time, I figured out more about that conversation that I witnessed in the garden. The man my father spoke to was an Inuzuka. I didn't realize at first because he did not have your clan's red triangle markings on his cheeks, but he did have a scar." She looked down at the floor. Kiba followed her gaze, he was a lost puppy at the moment. "It was a half moon shaped scar across his-"

"Mouth." He growled.

"Yes."

"My father. It was my father." Kiba roared, letting the woman go finally after having held her for numerous minutes. Feeling as thought the anger that started to bubble up on the inside might harm her.

"18 years ago, your father, came to mine to ask for help. To help his son, to help his clan, because apparently you messed something up." Hinata continued, sounding almost fascinated by her own words.

"What did I do? And how did arranging a marriage between us solve anything-" Kiba questioned, fuming.

"Let me finish, Kiba." The kunoichi threw back, sounding equally irritated. This was very strange, Hinata never sounded like _this_. "So, after I realized it was your father and that he said you were in trouble, I was beyond intrigued. We were friends even as kids, remember? I was really worried about you. I just went to talk to my dad. Imagine that, a 5 year old coming to discuss something with the head of the clan. At first my father denied all I asked about you and your father's visit. But then, one night he came to my room, and told me everything, that I had to marry you one day, because the Inuzuka and Hyuuga needed to form an alliance. He said it was especially important because it would maintain shinobi purity in the village, because the Inuzuka offspring messed up. You, Kiba, you messed up."

"I messed up? How? I was 5!" Kiba bawled.

"He told me that you have dishonored the Inuzuka traditions, and chose an impure mate, made an impure …blood bound."

"I made an impure blood bound when I was 5?" Kiba repeated her words in fear of what she was getting at.

"That's all I know…all I remember, because it sounded so strange. But now it makes sense!"

Kiba gulped.

"Do you see? It's Sakura. You must have marked her as your blood bound when you were a child! You parents found out, freaked out because she was not a pure clan bread shinobi, and stroke a deal with my father who was more than happy to form an alliance with another clan. In this way, your parents were reassured you mate in the future would be a pure clan bread female, while my father's hope in my usefulness was restored!"

Kiba told himself, he would only cry once for her, but he was only a human afterwards. The man tried to not pity himself too much as he fell to the floor. His vision blurred.

"Sakura was my mate all along?" He said just barely above whisper.

Hinata fell to her knees next to him. "I'm so sorry Kiba, I honestly thought you knew."

"I can't believe this. My father doing this…well that's one thing. That fucker ran out on us when I was what? 6? 7? But my mother? How could she?" He looked up, to reach Hinata's eye level. Her ivory orbs shaking and blending in his faulty vision. Time slowed down. Kiba was on the verge of getting up and finding the answer he needed somewhere else, before he heard her respond.

"To be honest…I don't think she knew. I believe she genuinely thinks I am your blood bound." Hinata replied softly, unsure of every single word she let out of her mouth.

"This is so messed up."

"It's a lot to take in."

"Wait." He hushed no one. "You said I chose Sakura as my blood bound when I was 5? How…?"

Hinata shook her head quickly.

"I really don't know."

"And this marriage? I mean this alliance between our clans-"

"I told my father I am not going through with it. I wouldn't have even said a word against his 18 years ago, but things changed. This is not the same society we were born into. We are free, we are allowed to make our own decisions Kiba-kun. With the elimination of the curse mark on the side branch, and now the shared leadership of the clan between my father Neji-san, and eventually Hanabi, the clan's standards have certainly been altered. Therefore I refuse to do what has been decided during those times of oppression and-"

"Okay. I get it. So your dad was cool with that?"

Hinata twitched, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

"Well…."

"Hinata." Kiba persisted, placing a hand on her newly formulated fist pressing into her tight.

"Well, he wasn't happy." She finally answered, looking away.

"He was furious." Kiba corrected, moving to the side, trying to catch her escaping gaze. She finally gave in, and looked him straight into his eyes.

"Fine. He was furious, but he didn't protest against my refusal to marry you."

"But he did not abolish the agreement. My mother still thinks we are getting married." The dog nin announced frustrated, grabbing her hand and pulling her back up to her feet with him.

"That can't be right." Hinata shook her head again, with more confidence now.

"Well it is! And do you want to know what's worse? My mate is dead!"

"Kiba-kun…" The young woman pouted, her face on the verge of breaking down. It was painful seeing her best friend go through this, and even more painful knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

"I don't even-urghhh! I have to go!"

Snapping, Kiba suddenly dashed off back into the crowded hall, leaving the pale girl standing alone, shaking in the corridor. This did not go as planned, she was supposed to sort things out for him by telling him all this, not make everything so complicated.

Hinata felt disappointed in herself once again, and seriously considered just breaking down here in the corridor, but then she realized something. This wasn't a case of 'there is nothing I can do', in fact, this was a case of 'there is something I must do.'

* * *

"Mother, wait up! We have to talk." Kiba snapped at the woman he was looking her, as he spotted her making her way out of the hall.

"Kiba." She stopped in acknowledgment. The crowd of people at the memorial service was thinning as more and more people poured out of the spacious room. The two Inuzuka moved to the quiet corner.

"So I had a talk with Hinata." Kiba began, dryly, crossing his arms.

"Great. Little over the due date, but great. Want me to congratulate you?" Tsume replied, with equal sour tone. This aggravated the Inuzuka heir.

"No, ma. This time, I won't be the bad guy here."

"Oh?" Tsume hardened her gaze.

"Hinata is not my mate."

"What?" She asked, with very little emotion in her voice and her face. The dog nin grounded his teeth.

"She is not. I don't know what father told you, but this whole Hyuuga-Inuzuka arrangement is a load of bull-"

"Now, hold on a minute. Your _father_? Your father had nothing to do with this. Hiashi Hyuuga forced this agreement upon _me_." Tsume suddenly snapped, her voice high pitched and her whole demeanor changing. "What?" She barked aggressive, at his expression.

"You're not denying this!" Kiba pointed his finger at his mother accusatorily.

"Denying what?"

"You're not denying that Sakura was my mate all along."

"How can I deny the truth to your face-"

"You have, this whole time!"

"Kiba, things are more complicated than they seem-"

"How complicated is it to tell the fucking truth!" Kiba now genuinely screamed on top of his lungs, having lost all restraints, his mother's lack of denial enraging him to no end. He exhaling heavily, noting some people around them were starting to observe them. He tried to calm himself. His mother has not even blinked.

"You know that the truth is not always easy." His mother finally broke the silence, in a silent, calm voice. She gave her a son a strange look, that before he would have classified it as almost affectionate, but now he no longer believed in that sort of behavior from her. "Sakura is your mate. Your marriage to Hinata was proposed as a form of alliance with one of the noble clans of the village, that your father and myself, have seen outmost essential considering the way the village was run at that time. It was also important because…." She trailed off, suddenly sounding very uncomfortable.

"Because?" Kiba demanded persistently.

"Because the blood bound you made was to a woman with no clan heritage."

"Impure." Kiba breathed out at the simplicity of that answer.

"That's what they called them." The woman clarified bashfully.

"They?"

"All shinobi families formed with a mixture of members of different clans, or shinobi with no clan heritage at all and their offspring of course."

"And this was so terrible that you had to do this?" Kiba asked weakly, disgusted.

"You don't understand. Those times were dark. There were alliances and…and cults forming that wanted to eliminate all these 'impure shinobi'."

"How could the 'Third' allow this? I mean he was the Hokage back then, wasn't he against this sort of behavior?" Kiba protested, the fists he has formed earlier turning white from the pressure. Things have escalated quickly.

"I don't know. The village was rebuilding itself from Madara's and Kyuubi's attack. The Third was busy, and Danzo spread a lot of these ideas…that's not important right now! All I am saying is that you have to understand things were different, and to have an heir to the Inuzuka clan be blood bounded to an impure was…"

"Horrific." Kiba snarled.

"Yes." His mother replied softly, not looking ashamed, just genuinely upset. This was not the woman Kiba knew. He felt uneasy.

"So what the fuck did you do? I still don't understand, why did dad go and seek help from the Hyuuga!?"

"You have to understand, things were difficult, the four noble clans were not respected, or looked up to… they were feared. Danzo had power over all of them, we didn't know that back then, but it was basically their village. The Hyuuga especially were always heavily concerned with these 'impures', non-clan shinobi, shinobi that did not possess a kekkai genkai. They saw them as a flaw in the village's otherwise perfect military. They saw them as a weakness in any and all upcoming wars."

Kiba nodded along, he has heard stories of terrible segregation and discrimination in the village, when it came to shinobi and civilians, but he was taken back by such prejudice within the shinobi system.

"Hyuuga made it clear that they didn't want any mixing between clan members and non-clan members. They wanted to actually divide up the academy so their children would not be in the presence of 'impures', I think this had a lot to do with Naruto as well, a child with the nine-tailed beast. Even thought we know he comes from a prestige clan, back then, he was considered to be just a monster." Tsume recited her words slowly, unconvinced.

"Everyone was afraid of him, and the clans. It was a dark time. So naturally, we were scared when you came back from school one day, blood bounded to one… It was the cherry on top, really. The Inuzuka never head a great relationship with any of the noble clans, I suppose they always saw us as just a pack of dog…ironically. Anyway your father thought it would be a clever idea to seal a deal with the Hyuuga. If he came to him, asking for help, he would make it seem as thought Hiashi really had all the power. He also came offering an alliance Hiashi could not have refused. It meant protection for our clan. You must understand that."

Kiba looked way, unable to bear her gaze, he hesitated but nodded slowly.

"I do."

"I'm sorry I couldn't have told you earlier. I was sworn to secrecy, after your father ran out on us."

"A seal?"

"Kiba, a seal is not necessary if you really need to keep something a secret." Tsume said almost lovingly, and Kiba wanted to vomit.

"But all this time? Why didn't you just tell me? You said things have changed."

"They have, but not all. Hiashi still demands this alliance. I think it's perfectly clear why I didn't tell you, because if I did there was no way you would go through and mate Hinata." She fumed, sounding equally agitated. Her gaze then fell to the floor, and she suddenly appeared much younger in Kiba's eyes. "I never should have let you date Sakura to begin with. A mistake I allowed to happen. I couldn't forbid it at the time, you were finally so happy."

"Exactly. So how can I even mate Hinata now? If I already got a mate?" The man demanded, his tone hard, but voice cracking, betraying his anger. It was all starting to hit him.

"Dead mate." Tsume asserted, and Kiba swore he had to restrain himself form hitting her. "Now you have no excuses, you have to mate Hinata."

"How can I? You said mates are for life. There is only one." He grounded his teeth.

"True, however Sakura was only your blood bound, you have never mated her."

"What are you talking about? We had plenty of se-"

"Idiot! The mating ritual does not only entail irresponsible intercourse." Tsume crossed her arms.

"It doesn't?"

"I swear, if Hana was willing to be the next clan head, I would kill you." The woman pinched her nose in annoyance. "The principal aspect of the mating ritual is the exchange of blood with your blood bound during the climax."

"Oh." Kiba pursed is lips. They have done many things in the bedroom together, but definitely not that.

"You have 6 days." Tsume casually reminded her son.

"Are you fucking kidding me? My _real_ mate just died. Hinata said she is not going through with this, she said her father is fine with that, so why can't you be?"

"No matter what Hiashi says to Hinats's face, the deal is on. Trust me. He did not wait 18 years just to have his daughter spit in his face like this. He is not going to back down. He wants this alliance now more than ever. In his eyes, the liberation of the shinobi is really just a start of a revolution. He needs alliance in as many clans as he can, he won't stop. You have to do this."

Kiba opened his mouth, no words came out. His closed them again and just stared at his mother in utter silence. He was the definition of a lost puppy, and Tsume was sourly reminded of simpler times.

"I can't." He finally whispered in complete desperation.

"I understand. Your blood bound just died. You are probably having hard time walking, talking, even breathing, but it will pass. You will get better, she wasn't your mate yet." Tsume smiled, sounding extremely understanding and comforting. It was provoking Kiba all over again.

"I don't have trouble breathing okay? God, I'm just fucking frustrated!" He roared, grasping his head.

"The pain will go." She insisted, in a soothing manner.

"It's not pain, it's fury!" Kiba retorted. It was aggravating enough the way she spoke to him, she did not have to make him sounds weak too. "I'm just so angry, and confused and disappointed…not hurt!"

"You feel no pain?" Tsume repeated in fascination.

"Wha-No!" He grimaced, watching her reaction. She seemed beyond bewildered. He raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing?" She questioned, eyes wide.

"I told you, I feel damn angry!" He grabbed her by her shoulder and shook her, her dull responses driving him insane. Seeing her even more lifeless reaction to this action, he stopped. Her mouth was slightly parted, and she was breathing very hard. "What?" He asked a little concerned, wondering if maybe he scared her too much.

No. This was Tsume. That couldn't be it.

"When one's blood bound dies, the individual goes through series of excruciating days where the pain of the death of his or her blood bound is reflected in their body. You should literally feel like you are dying right now." She recited, meeting his own widening gaze. "I just thought you were being brave and stubborn, but you are not…" She trailed off

"What does this mean?" He insisted loudly. She was once again looking at the floor.

"Ma." He barked at her threateningly. "What does this mean?"

The look she gave him when she looked up again stopped him dead in his tracks.

"It means that Sakura can't be dead."

* * *

"Father, we have to talk."

Hiashi was standing amongst numerous men, all with a drink in hand, laughing heartily at someone's political joke. The scene was comical, and out of place. Hinata frowned.

"Hinata, I thought you left." He replied soundly, turning to face his daughter.

"Well, I stopped and talked with Kiba-kun." Hiashi arched his eyebrow, his face picking up on her irritated tone. "Obviously, that does not please you father."

"Oh, why shouldn't it? It's good that you're establishing a connection with him." Her father replied calmly, studying Hinata face with his empty, pearly eyes.

"Oh, it is, isn't? Since he is still under the impression that we are getting married."

"Right." Hiashi's face remained stoic, but Hinata's certainly did not.

"Father! I thought we talked about this."

"We talked about nothing. You spoke to me about you opinion, which I respect, but unfortunately cannot take under consideration. This is not you about you, Hinata-"

"It's not about you? I am the one getting married! You already took the clan away from me, gave it to Hanabi before I could even defend myself, and now you are pushing me into another? Against my will?" Hinata screamed, no longer caring if she was making a scene in front of her father's pretentions friends. Her father did not utter a single word, but when he turned to face the rest of his friends he must have done something, because they all dispersed within a second, leaving the two Hyuuga alone.

"You will not interrupt me, and you will not yell at me. Where has your respect gone?" The older man articulated every word with such hostile tone, that it almost made Hinata jerk back in fear, but she didn't. This alone, made Hiashi harden his gaze at the sudden stubbornness she was conveying. "You cannot understand that this is not about you, this is about the clan, and the future of the village. One wrong move and everything falls apart."

The pale woman was quiet for a moment, but just a moment. Hiashi noted how she didn't seem scared or intimated, but somehow chagrined. "Even with you byakugan, you are so blind, father."

"You may not understand, neither does Kiba, but sadly the responsibility falls on your generation. You cannot refuse this marriage, not anymore."

"Not anymore?" Hinata moaned desperately, finding her father's words absurd.

"Indeed, I cannot force you to go through with this, but with Sakura out of the picture, Kiba will be a clever boy to do so himself."

"Sakura out of the picture?" The woman repeated the words that crashed down on her like a powerful tide, the water washing everything away and painfully uncovering what she never wanted to see. "No…"

"Don't be so surprised. Hyuuga are not known for their compassion."

"It was you, you attacked the village, you killed Haruno Sakura." Hinata finally whispered in completely shock, yet somehow with some sort of expected acknowledgment. Of course it was the Hyuuga's fault.

"I killed no one. I was away at a safe house along with rest of the clan during the attack, you know that." Hiashi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Don't play stupid father, you lead the attack!" Hinata pointed her finger at her father with such bitterness, that it should have been Hiashi's turn to jump back, but he certainly did not. "You killed her because she was standing in between this marriage, you knew Kiba would never marry me as long as she existed…You killed her for your own gain."

"I killed no one." Hiashi repeated bluntly. "It's hardly for my own gain, it was a necessary sacrifice for the future of clans."

"And the attack? The hospital? Was it just to make a statement?" The woman continued her onslaught of questions, feeling beyond betrayed.

"You can't just eliminate someone in her position without leaving some…damage." He said, almost calculatingly, and Hinata wanted to throw up.

"It's all part of the cover up isn't it? Because who would suspected the leader of one of the noble four clans of the village, to harm the village so fatally? To weaken it at such a level?" She demanded, her voice menancing.

"Exactly. How could someone like me ever do that?" Hiashi placed his hand on his hip casually. "Anyhow, the destruction of the medical department really served well on more than one level."

"More than one level?" His daughter repeated.

"Our dear, old, delusional Hokage is a world renowned medical shinobi. Destroying her very own hospital, and her very own apprentice surely must have left a scar."

"You wanted to hurt Tsunade-sama?" Hinata's eyes widened, and her upper lip quivered as more and more of the ice-cold water rushed down her.

"She is a failure…was one from the beginning. Letting impure be her apprentice. Letting a traitor back into the village…and the worst of all letting a monster be her successor."

"A monster?" Hinata took a step back this time, not out of fear for herself, but if she hadn't she might have actually laid a finger on her beloved father. "If you are referring to Naruto then-"

"Then I am hurting you? Insulting the one you love so deeply? You are still so naïve and vapid Hinata, this just shows much you need this marriage." Hiashi snapped, sternly. "You still need me to take care of you, and that's exactly what I am doing. I am looking out for the future, one that seems so bleak at this moment."

"I don't understand how you managed to manipulate everyone like this…and what you think this whole arrangement will achieve, but I do know one thing, you have crossed a line, father." The woman raised her head, challenging the man before her." And I can't let you cross it any further." She stated, determined.

"What are you going to do Hinata? Expose me as the cold-blooded killer of our precious Medical Chief? Don't make me laugh, you know I never laugh." Her father spoke slowly, as he began to approach his suddenly rebellious daughter. "You will remain quiet and obedient. You will go through this marriage with Kiba and you will very happily help him lead the clan and form a solid relationship between the Hyuuga and Inuzuka. You will obey me, because I am ready to eliminate anyone else who gets in my way, whether it be any more of your friends, or even you for that matter, my dear, dear daughter. I am willing to make as many sacrifices as necessary to again rebuilt the standards and values this village was formed on." Hiashi's words were spoken as an absolute truth, as a set of rules that were never meant to be broken. They were sickening and stomach turning and for a brief moment Hinata wasn't sure if this man really was her father, but then it hit her, this is who he always had been, she has just been too blind to notice.

"Is this what we have come to? You blackmailing me?" The woman murmured, disgusted at her own sudden weakness.

"You're right, I really have no reason to. I think you are aware of the multiple loyalty seals you have had implanted in your brain, tongue and eyes since birth. I already have all the control over you. All you can do is at least be grateful for the life I am securing for you, and your children." He said, as he came near inches from her, and casually, almost lovingly, grasped her chin to make her face him completely.

"Now the Inuzuka have this whole 'mate' thing which I think works perfectly. There is no separation after their ritual is complete. Everything I have done will become irrelevant after that Inuzuka heir mates you. I believe Tsume said this has to be done before the boy turn 23, which is in a week, so you will be a smart girl to play along."

He studied her reaction for a moment, but all the light seemed to have faded from his daughter's eyes. This is who he had raised. He gave her the smallest, ugliest smile.

"I'll see you at home."

He disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

And just like everyone Hinata learned to love so strongly over time, has once again disappointed her. However what made the young woman fall to her knees in utter defeat, was not her disappointment in her father, it was the disgust she felt for herself. No matter how much she has changed, and grown since the academy years, since the time Hanabi had been chosen over her, she realized she had come a full circle to end up in the exactly same spot. Just defeated, helpless and used.

* * *

"_You know what they will call us?" _

_Kiba looked up, his eyes fixating on the woman lying nonchalantly on the bed, completely bare and so vivid. "What?" He asked absent-mindedly lost in the sight of her. _

"_Poodle." The pink haired woman giggled, propping herself up on her elbows. Kiba's eyes immediately fell down to her bouncing breasts. "Do you get it? People often dye their poodles pink, and poodles are dogs so you and me…" She continued, finally catching Kiba's gaze as it unwillingly left her chest. She spoke in a lower tone now, seductively eyeing the shinobi on the bed. Kiba was seated at the foot of the bed, having just taken a shower; he too was completely bare, with just a white towel wrapped loosely around his slim waist. _

_He was mesmerized, and unknowing started to move his form, across the bed, towards his lover. "Together, we make a lovely, little…" The young woman continued her silly lecture, watching the man now, who was on all four like a proper dog, crawl across the bed towards her. Her eyes fell to the small, flimsy towel, covering what she wanted to see so much. _

"_Poodle." She finished suddenly, snapping her head back up, only to meet Kiba's face now leaning dangerously close to hers. His stare was intense, dark, deep and filled with devious promises. His hot breath fanned her face, and she suddenly felt very small and vulnerable. This man was a polar opposite to her, broad, strong and intimidating. He scared her but made her feel safe at the same time. She couldn't keep her eyes of him._

_Kiba dipped his head and captured her lips swiftly. It was soft and soothing, their lips just touching, he was hardly pushing, rather gently leaning into her. At that moment, she felt everything, and it all collapsed._

_Opening her mouth, Sakura pushed her hand into his unruly head, and pulled him to her roughly. Taking the hint, Kiba_ _slipped his tongue into her mouth and coaxed her own into a sensual dance. The woman let out a muffled moan, as her hips ground up against his of their own accord, demanding primal satisfaction. She was met with something hard and hot, pressed to her inner thigh, and the warmth within her spread rapidly. _

_Kiba moved one of his callous hands to wrap behind her neck molding her warm body against his. His tongue moved slowly against hers before sweeping over lips and teeth, exploring every corner of her mouth as he brought his other hand between them and cupped her breast gently. Sakura moaned in reply feeling his rough fingertips but his touch soft, squeezing the supple globe with just enough pressure to make her writhe with need._

_His fingers brushed over the hard bud at the center just as he released her lips from their captivity, causing her to let out another desperate moan against his cheek. He consoled her with feather-light kisses along her jaw and down her neck as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand slowly made its way down her body, across her chest, the flat planes of her stomach, over her hips until his entire palm rested fully against her heated clit. He cupped her slowly, and then pressed his hand hard against the clit._

_Sakura moaned loudly, her back arching beautifully off the bed as her sensitive body tried to receive all the man above her was offering. Kiba's half lidded eyes watched her, with dark desire. Her eyes were shut, and her face contorted in pleasure, her mouth opened in a silent scream. Kiba wanted to chuckle at how easy it was to bring her to the edge, how easy it was to make her lose control, but there was more to it, he knew that. The physical chemistry between them was unbelievable; anything one did had an immediate effect on the other. _

_Kiba often wondered what it was like to be in love, and to have that love equally reciprocated. It was times like these the dog nin felt himself crack, and slip down the icy path. _

"_Sakura." He murmured, stilling, but his gaze completely set on her face. She made him feel like someone else, someone he always wanted to be, and wanted to be seen as. Maybe this was love; maybe he was _in _love with her. _

"_Hmm?" The woman moaned lowly, not opening her eyes, just basking in the moment. _

"_I…" _

_Love you. I fucking love you._

"…_love your ass." He smirked devilishly, ignoring that little voice in his head screaming 'coward' at him. He moved his hand away from Sakura's womanhood, much to the woman's displeasures, and grabbed one of her ass cheeks._

"_Cheeky." Sakura giggled, finally opening her eyes, and wrapping both of her arms around his neck._

"_Why, it is."_

_Their mouths met again, in another heated kiss. _

_Suddenly both shinobi froze, and before Sakura could even come up with a nasty enough curse word in her mind, her lover, showed her into the mattress with his strong large hand fisted in her hair, pushing her down and under the covers. _

"_Ki-ughh!" _

"_Shhhh!" Kiba snapped back, head held high in the air, his nose sniffing carefully. "There is someone in the house." _

_Sakura wanted to roll her eyes. Of course she sensed it too! Some damn idiot was poorly concealing his chakra and sneaking into a house with two elite jonins inside it, it had to be the one and only idiot she knew. However, it seemed Kiba did not pick up on that fact, but rather chose to be the protective alpha male as he often did. _

_Sakura wriggled a little trying to get out of his grasp. She could have easily knocked him off her and across to the other room, but she was aware that she was still naked and at least in this way she was protected by the covers and his body from the eyes of the incoming shinobi. _

"_Stay down. This asshole doesn't know who's house he is sneaking into it." Kiba growled dangerously, moving across her body, to face the door of the room, while still resting his hand in her hair, holding her down and below the covers. _

"_Kiba, you dumbass, let me go." She growled lowly._

"_Stay here, I'll go check it out." He replied, ignoring her plea and hesitantly letting her go as he moved towards the door cautiously, sniffing the air, completely oblivious to the fact that the little towel covering his manhood was now pathetically hanging off his hips. Sakura crocked her head to the side slightly, with a smirk, enjoying the view of the handsome man thinking he was protecting her somehow. She knew Kiba couldn't pick out the intruder's scent, the technique she herself has taught the said individual._

_This could actually turn out hilarious. So she let him continue without saying a word. _

_He sneaked cautiously towards the wooden door, pressing his backside to it, and placing his ear gently against its surface, listening for any signs of movement. Sakura rolled her eyes, what a drama queen he was. _

_Kiba's ears perked up. He faced Sakura and mouthed animatedly 'Behind. The. Door.' _

_Sakura just smiled mockingly. Kiba continued with his stake out._

'_I…"_

_He pointed to his face._

"…_will go…"_

_He made a running man out of his two forefingers on his right hand._

"…_Outside."_

_He crocked his head towards the door. Sakura wanted to burst out of laughing; this man was adorable. She gave him a sneaky thumbs-up. Kiba made a strange face in return as if not understanding why she was at all calm. _

_He slowly moved his hand towards the doorknob and turned it. The wooden frame suddenly snapped open and well-known blonde shinobi came tumbling in, crashing into the dog nin standing like a statue at the door, and both men fell to the ground comically. _

_Sakura wasn't sure what happened next because she threw her head back in a fit of laughter._

"_You idiot!" _

"_What the hell are you doing?!"_

"_Me? You are the only sneaking into my house!"_

"_Your house! This is Sakura-chan's house!"_

"_Then why the hell are you sneaking in!"_

_There was a pause. Naruto looked Kiba up and down questioningly; his expression went from confusion to agitation. _

"_Why the hell are you naked?!"_

"_Why do you think!?"_

_Naruto blinked twice. He shifted his gaze from the nearly naked Kiba, to the completely bare Sakura on the bed, who was clutching sheets to her chest, still lost in a world of giggles._

"_No…" Naruto said sounding genuinely upset and hurt. In that kind of tone one would expect a child that just dropped his ice cream on the floor to use. "I hoped to never catch you guys like this."_

"_Then why are you here in the first place and why were you masking your chakra?" Kiba repeated his question, now evidently annoyed as he picked himself up from the floor. Naruto stayed quiet as he himself stood up swiftly, dusting off his jonin vest delicately. _

"_It's a little game we play, to scare each other sometimes, isn't that right Naruto?" Sakura giggled, sitting up properly on the bed, the sheet thankfully still in tact._

"_Hilarious." Kiba replied dryly, "So, what is it you want?"_

"_I was actually coming to see Sakura, if she knew where you where, cause Baa-chan is looking for you." He murmured, looking at the ground. "Apparently she knew very well where you were." _

"_Hmp." Kiba snickered arrogantly, but then stopped himself, "Oh crap." Kiba growled, moving past Naruto back into the bathroom. _

"_What is it?" Sakura asked, moving up from her sitting position. Her grasp on the sheet loosened at her motion and the sheet slipped down her frame, the tops of her breasts now exposed. _

_Naruto wished that someone chidori-ed his eyes out at that very moment, because he certainly saw more than she would normally let him, and it was beyond pleasing. He felt his face heat up, and sweat form at his brows._

"_Kiba has a mission he volunteered on by himself, and is late for the briefing. Baa-chan is not in a good mood today to begin with so she really had no patience to wait for him anymore." He spoke slowly, trying very hard not to stare at Sakura's beautiful, ivory skin that was peaking from the flaky piece of cloth. _

"_You volunteered on a mission?" Sakura asked the dog nin accusatorily, as he entered the bedroom again now fully dressed, tying is his forehead protector. _

"_Mmmm didn't I tell you- Hey! Eyes on me dumbass!" Kiba suddenly snapped turning to look at Naruto, who he noticed was just subtly staring at his practically naked girlfriend. Naruto blushed harder. "I was! God…" Kiba's eyes narrowed. _

"_Put some clothes on Sakura." _

"_You didn't tell me about any mission!" Sakura deflected his demand, "I have seen the mission schedule for this month, your name wasn't on it, and none of the unassigned mission were compatible with your level or skill." _

"_I took over Neji's mission." Kiba replied casually as he continued to fiddle with the forehead protector that he couldn't seem to be able to tie properly. _

"_Neji was assigned to an S-rank, infiltration, solo mission." Sakura recited the phrase as if it was a death wish, which it genuinely was. Naruto cringed because he knew that tone._

"_Yep." Kiba sighed, giving up on that damn protector and just showing it into his chest pocket, "He can't go, his byakugan has been giving him problems lately, and it's too risky if he is not on his A game. Out of all the available shinobi, I'm the only one with adequate skills to infiltrate." The brunette smirked, pointed to his nose. "So, I volunteered."_

"_But it's all the way in Tea Country." Sakura continued to whine. It was as if Kiba was just a thick piece of lead. He never caught on to any of her words, couldn't he tell she was worried?_

"_Congratulations on your geography skills?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. Naruto, knowing Sakura for much longer than Kiba has, made a face, knowing very well the dog nin was going get it. Much to Naruto's dismay, and surprise Sakura just closed her mouth, and slumped back down on the bed. It was Naruto's turn to raise his eyebrow._

_Kiba sighed. He knew _that _face. "Sakura."_

"_Just go." _

_Kiba ran his hand through his hair in annoyance. "I'll be fine, no need to worry, Sakura." He moved towards the bed, as he continued to console her. "You know I can take care of myself, baby." He spoke gently, as he outstretched his arm with the intention of stroking her or pat her in a comforting manner. However the stubborn Sakura, just huffed, and curled down into a ball on the bed, covering herself head to toe with the sheet. _

_Kiba stopped in his tracks; he hated this. Every time he was given a mission, slightly outside of the norm she would freak out. It was insulting really, as if he was to fragile to handle anything above a B-rank. It's not like he acted like a baby when she was sent on dangerous missions. _

_Kiba cringed. _

_Well, fine. He did. He acted like this no matter what mission Sakura was sent on, but this is different. He is allowed to be protective and possessive, he is the man in this relationship. That's that._

"_Fine. If you want to be like this, then be it. I'll see you in a week." The tanned man said coldly, turning around swiftly and marching right out of that room. _

_Naruto looked sadly over at the small lump of white sheet on the bed. _

"_See you later, Sakura-chan." With that, he too, left. It might have been sickly twisted, but on the inside he was incredibly pleased with the fact that their relationship was so rocky, it meant that it could fall apart any time, and he knew, that he would be the first person Sakura would run to for comfort. It was disgusting, but even someone as warm hearted and kind as Naruto, had those feelings._

_Sakura remained still in that cocoon position just staring ahead and trying to not feel awful about what just happened. That lasted about two hours, before she broke down. She cried that night, thinking what a mistake she made. Thinking, what if Kiba indeed died on that mission, and her last words to him were filled with spite and bitterness. The man she loved would leave this world thinking she didn't care, and most importantly not even knowing about how much she loved him. _

_As she slowly succumbed to sleep filled with gruesome nightmares filled with Kiba's motionless body and lifeless eyes, the only thoughts in her mind were that of her need of telling him. She needed to tell him how she has felt over the past 5 months of being together, and how she would always feel about him. She had to finally tell him that she loved him. She had to do it. _

_She never did. _

.

.

.

An emerald eye cracked open lazily.

It was that memory, that memory that used to haunt Sakura; a memory that has metamorphosed into a kind of gnarly nightmare.

Her sensitive nose cringed, and the freshly exposed iris started to water.

The air was stingy, and heavy.

Her lungs felt too dense. It was like trying to breathe in sand, and trying to breathe in water at the same time. It was impossible.

It was dark and murky. The woman wasn't sure if her eyes really were open, or if perhaps she went blind.

However there were constraints, physical and mental.

She felt her heart pump frantically, as if racing to the finish line. She wondered what awaited her there.

Sakura knew she just had a dream, which was for sure. Therefore she had to be awake now. But as to which world she has woken up to, was still unknown.

.

.

_._

* * *

_**Beta'd by the amazing Victoblerone. Thank you!**_

**_Couple of things...First time Hinata appears in the story and well to be honest I was dreading this, because if some of you still don't know, frankly, I dislike her character in the manga. However, I aimed to write her in a way I would like her character to be, or at least in a manner that I find her tolerable. Anyway, I know she is very loved and it would be a deal breaker for some of you if she was portrayed poorly, so you can count on her being pretty important soon, if she is not already. _**

**_Sakura...well she is somewhere in between life and death at the moment. Wish her all the luck! :) Cremation will probably not be a reversible event, huh?_**

**_Please review and tell me what you think! _**


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